Next Generation: Avengers
by imaninja41
Summary: Fury doesn't even know how they wound up with all these kids! From terrorists, Asguard, and even the circus! Six kids from 9 to 17, different as can be, what does he do with them? Passes them off as the Avenger's Sidekicks. What could possible go wrong?
1. In The Begining

The boy screamed, thrashing around in the small padded cell, barley big enough to lay down in. He pushed against the walls, shoving with all his might as heat waves started to generate from his scarred palms. He threw himself back into the other wall, letting another scream come from his mouth as he desperately clawed at his palms, trying to prevent what he knew was coming.

A voice struck through the room that was not the boy's, a woman's voice, shouting, "You have to calm down! Deep breaths!"

Before the boy could comply, or at least attempt to, his fists exploded into flames, and horror soon filled his face.

He screamed louder, thrashing about, trying to put out the flame, but the heat quickly climbed up his arms, to his elbows.

"Calm down!" The voice sounded again.

The boy screamed out, words forming, "Help!"

Foam suddenly shot out from a small cylinder on the wall coating the boy head to toe, and putting out the flame. He lay on the floor, panting, shivering, and begging whatever god existed that he may die.

**OUTSIDE THE ROOM:**

Fury stared at the screen showing the young boy, frowning when the woman who had been telling the boy to calm down turned to him, "He's getting worse, I don't know what's triggering him off. The minute he can gain control is the minute we can ask him where he came from."

Fury nodded, acknowledging the woman's logic. "You said he simply appeared in the middle of New York spewing fire everywhere?"

She nodded, "Yes sir, and given what we've observed, I can safely say he wasn't doing it on purpose."

"Any feedback on his DNA?" Fury inquired.

The woman nodded, "Positive, he's a mutant."

Fury nodded, "Thought as much."

He stared a the boy on the screen for a few moments, before turning to the woman once more, "He's claustrophobic, get him in a bigger cell and there won't be any more incidents."

The woman, surprised the sudden diagnostic, attempted to react in a less disrespectful way in which she wanted. "Of course, but as soon as this is done, perhaps we should get a psychiatrist to see if that's right."

Fury nodded, "Fine."

**WITH TONY STARK AT STARK TOWER:**

Tony bent over his work bench, going over blue prints, trying to decide a design for a new suit.

Pepper walked in, "Tony, have you seen Jackson?"

Tony looked up at the mention of his son, raising an eyebrow, "No, where's the slugger off to?"

Pepper rolled her eyes, "I don't know, that's why I'm asking."

Tony frowned, then spoke, "Jarvis, where's Jack?"

The machine voice quickly sounded, "I believe Jackson is sulking in his room."

Tony looked up suddenly, "Sulking? What for?"

"I have no idea sir."

Tony stood up, turning to Pepper, "What's that kid got to be sad about?"

She rolled her eyes, "Oh I don't know Tony, and as a completely unrelated topic, can you guess what yesterday was?"

Tony paused, "Jarvis, what was yesterday?"

He immediately answered, "Yesterday was supposed to be Jackson's birthday party."

Tony's eyes widened, "Wait… his birthday is in a week!"

"Yes, but he wanted you to take him to the ultimate fight between Rio and Ogle, which was yesterday, and you agreed." Jarvis explained.

Tony looked over his shoulder at Pepper, "Um… sorry?"

She glared at him, "Don't say that to me, you missed your son's twelfth birthday! Tell this to him!"

Tony nodded, turning back to his workbench, "I'll make it up to the kid, Jarvis, we're gonna have to do some size remodeling on this, and change the colors around a bit, then it'll be perfect."

Pepper stepped up, "Oh no Tony, you're not blowing off your son again because of Iron Man!"

"I'm not blowing him off!" Tony protested, setting the blueprints down. He turned back to the screen, "What's Jackson's height and mass?"

Jarvis pulled the numbers up, and Tony raised an eyebrow, "When did he grow two inches?"

Pepper stepped up, grabbing Tony's shoulder, and pulling him around to face her, "When you were gone nearly all last month!"

Tony sighed, "Pepper, Nick called me in, what do you want me to do?"

"Say no!" Pepper snapped, "I get it, you've got the Avengers to think about, but get a grip already! You saved the world years ago from Loki, and countless other times since then. But our son, who we've had for twelve years, barely knows you!"

"That's not true!" Tony protested, "I'm sorry I was gone so long, but-"

"And as soon as you came home, what did you do? Did you go up to your son and say hi, or take him to get ice cream? No! You walked right in here!" Pepper scolded.

Tony sighed, "I'll make it up to the kid, I promise."

Pepper glared at him, "Do it right now!"

Jarvis spoke up, "Sir, the armor is ready, but awaits painting."

Tony nodded, "Print me a 3D design, pronto."

Pepper, finally realizing that Tony was making something suspicious, said, "Tony what are you doing?"

Tony picked up a small screen out of midair, turning it, and displaying it proudly, "The birthday present I was working on for Jackson ever since I got home."

Pepper stared at it, covering her mouth in shock, "Tony, that's what you've been working on?"

He dropped his smile, turning sober, something Tony rarely ever did, "Remember last year, how I took that hit to the spine?"

She nodded, "And you were in a wheelchair for four months, I know."

He nodded, dead serious, "Well, it got me thinking, what if I got hit about a foot higher next time?"

Pepper ran the math, realizing Tony meant getting hit in his head. "Oh… Tony-"

"And I kept thinking to myself, what happens when there's no Iron Man anymore?" Tony looked down at the design, "Which is something Jack's gonna have to answer."

He turned around, walking to the door with the screen, "Right now."

**IN JACK'S ROOM:**

Jackson frown down at his math homework, glaring at the complicated trigonometry. It wasn't because he didn't like math, or that the problem was to hard, after all, he was almost done with college, and had a future portraying a business partner ship with his Mother, since she was pretty much the one running Stark Industries, and full inheritance of the Stark fortune.

He sighed, leaning back form his now completed homework. He had a lifetime of fine living ahead of him, but it wasn't enough. "Jarvis, are you there?"

"As always young sir." Jarvis answered faithfully.

Jackson smiled, when he was younger, around four, he had thought Jarvis was a real person, just invisible. He had proclaimed Jarvis his best friend, and talked with him constantly. He still talked with him constantly.

"Need help with your math sir?" Jarvis questioned.

"Do I ever?" Jackson joked, then went serious. "Jarvis, what was Dad doing with the Avengers last month?"

"That's classified information sir." Jarvis answered.

"Overload process T Stark." Jackson commanded.

"Master Tony was helping them deal with a terrorist plot involving a young pyrotechnic." Jarvis answered.

"How young?"

"Fourteen years old."

Jackson mused on that slowly. "Tell me all about it."

"Terrorists seemingly forced the boy into the streets and triggered his pyrokinetik ability, making him nearly set all of Manhattan on fire." Jarvis explained, "The boy was subdued and is now residing on the helicarrier. I know for a fact that they are trying to help the boy contain his still raging power."

Jackson frowned, "What's his name?"

"He hasn't been able to be conscious and not flying into a fiery rage long enough to tell them anything." Jarvis explained, "DNA tests show he is in fact a mutant, but there have been no known matches to public records on his identity."

Jackson nodded, "You got a picture?"

"No young sir."

"Why do you always call me young sir? I'm not a kid anymore." Jackson said, raising an eyebrow.

"Your father programmed it the moment you began talking to me so that there would be no confusion between which 'sir' I was talking to." Jarvis explained.

There was a knock on the door, and Jackson quickly snapped, "Mute!"

Jarvis' voice faded, and Tony entered the room. Jackson glared at him, "What do you want?"

Tony smirked, "Nice to see you too kid. Happy birthday!"

Jackson raised his eyebrow as his father held up a small screen. "Go on, take a look!"

Jackson walked over, looking at the screen, and nearly gasping to see a smaller version of a colorless Iron Man on the screen. "D-dad, what is that?"

"Your birthday present." Tony answered. "Whatever colors you want, I don't even care if it's pink, I'll roll with it."

Jackson laughed, taking the screen from Tony, smiling at it, "Black and blue!"

Tony smirked, "Great, you'll look like a big bruise."

"Dad!" Jackson protested.

Tony smirked, "Alright, black and blue, I got it."

Jackson threw his arms around his father in a hug, "Thank you so much!"

Tony smirked, "After lunch we can take it for a test run."


	2. There Was Blood

Fury tried to smile at the dark skinned teenager in front of him, but with the kid staring at his own hands folded up in his lap, it was difficult. "So, what's your name?"

"T-Tyson." The boy answered. "Tyson Gimple."

Fury cleared his throat, and the boy nearly jumped out of his skin, flames immediately shooting form his finger tips and engulfing his wrists.

The men standing on either side of the metal table immediately took our fire extinguishers, shooting them at the boy.

He fell back, stumbling, and falling to the floor, shielding his face from the foam.

"Enough!" Fury barked, and the two guards stopped.

The boy shivered, the white foam a complete contrast to his skin. Fury motioned to the chair, and the boy, shaking, carefully sat down again.

"Now, how did you get into the middle of New York, terrorizing everything that moved?" Fury asked.

Tyson's eyes widened, "I-I didn't mean to do that! They, they all made me!"

Fury nodded, trying to calm him down, "I know, calm down son, we just wanna know where they are. Tell us everything you know about them, everything you remember, and we'll take them out."

Tyson took deep breaths, trying not to flame up again. "They… they always kept us in darkness."

"Us?" Fury questioned, his only eye widening.

Tyson nodded, "There were other kids there."

"How many?" Fury asked, this was getting serious, and he suspected they were breeding weapons out of mutant teenagers. Since the human mutant alike law had been passed, this was highly illegal.

Tyson sighed, "There was me, some other kid, named Clyde I think, and a girl that came in the day I was taken out, I don't think they could have done anything to her yet."

Fury frowned even more, "Done anything?"

Tyson nodded, "Experiments. They were always trying to get Clyde to fight back, but he was always holding back his mutation, and they found out every way to trigger my ability."

Fury nodded, "What ways?"

"Getting me angry was their favorite one." Tyson said, glaring at the table in front of him, "Eventually, they did it so much that any amount of anger, even just a little aggravation, would set me off."

He took a deep breath before looking up at Fury again, "I'm sorry, this conversation is making me angry. Just thinking about what they did to me…"

Fury nodded, "They robbed you of your humanity."

Fury knew that feeling, he's seen it in the eyes of every person he's talked to form this kind of situation.

Tyson chuckled, "I wish. If I wasn't human, it might make me feel better." Tyson shook his head slowly, "No, they did more than that. They took away my childhood. I was there for six years, being there play thing. They had no pity on the eleven year old orphan that came in, or the seventeen year old horror that came out."

Fury nodded, taking out a piece of paper and a pen, "I need you to write down everything you know about where their headquarters is at, how many men they have, how many weapons, and if you can, an inner map of the building. Can you do that for me son?"

Tyson nodded, "Yes sir. But I want a favor in return."

Fury raised his one seeable eyebrow, "What do you want?"

"Me, Clyde, and that other girl there, I want you to promise me we're not going to end up in an asylum or anything like that." He clarified. "And if that's impossible, just promise me that the others will be taken care of."

Fury was impressed. Any other person would have just been concerned about themselves after something like that, but this kid was sticking his neck out for the others. "Son, I promise you, nothing of the sort will happen to you three."

The boy nodded, quickly concerning himself with the pen and paper.

Fury walked out of the room, striding down the hallway at a fast pace, glaring slightly. After years of working in this field, he still could not figure out how someone could do that to a child. For six years, that boy had known nothing but a dark room with horrible men in it.

A voice suddenly piped up, "Yo Fury, looks like someone slapped you in the face, and then it froze like that." Tony commented, walking over in his Iron Man suit, but the helmet was pulled away, revealing his face.

Fury tried to contain his dislike of the man, "Agent Stark, you were issued home."

He nodded, "Right, but junior here really wanted to see the helicarrier."

Fury looked with disdain at the young boy who stepped out behind Tony, an exact replica of Iron man, but smaller, and blue where Iron man was gold, black where he was red. "Tony-"

The helmet of the boy's face pulled away, revealing his mother's red hair and his father's brown eyes, "What's up Fury?"

Fury glared at Tony, "Trying to figure out why there's a child on my helicarrier. Stark, this is against every rule we have! No civilians on this helicarrier unless authorized by me!"

The boy tilted his head to the side, "Dad was right, you are a party pooper that should have been hugged more when he was a child."

Fury's eyes widened, then slowly turned to Tony, who was looking at his son with a look that said 'why did I ever tell you that?' before turning to Fury, a smirk on his face, "I have no idea where he heard that."

Fury glared at Tony, "Get this kid off my helicarrier, and never let him come back!"

Tony smirked, but before he could reply, Jackson spoke up, "Where's the pyrotechnic you intercepted in New York last week?"

Fury turned to Tony, absolutely livid, but Tony beat him to it, "I didn't tell him that!"

Jackson answered quickly, "He didn't tell me, I hacked Jarvis."

Tony smirked smugly, "See I told you- wait, you did what!" before Jackson could answer, his father went ballistic, "You hacked Jarvis! How could you do- I never even- you have no idea what-… are you kidding me! It's an unspoken law! You don't hack another man's computer! Especially your fathers!"

Jackson shrugged, "You made it to easy."

Tony sputtered, "To easy! This is _my _software you're talking about! The most advanced software-"

"That a twelve year old hacked." Jackson finished.

Fury interrupted the exchange, "Jackson, how much do you know about the pyrotechnic?"

"Everything that Dad knows." Jackson answered.

Nick sighed, turning to Tony, "Any particular reason that you've got your son in a battle suit, on the helicarrier?"

Tony shrugged, "It was time to start looking for a successor."

Nick nodded, knowingly, he had felt the need for a successor before to, it was part of the personal reasoning behind the Avengers motive. "He's twelve years old Stark."

Tony shrugged, "He's graduating from college in a few weeks, does that stand for anything?"

Nick sighed, "Probably not."

"Rats."

Maria Hill walked into the room suddenly, "General, Tyson is requesting your presence."

Nick nodded, standing up, before a young voice stopped him, "Can come?"

Nick looked down at the kid, the kid who probably had hacked Jarvis many times and probably knew far more than he should. He was faced with two options, either have a backfire of threats the twelve year old would generate about exposing S.H.E.I.L.D, or just let the kid have his childhood wonder moments today and ban him from returning tomorrow.

"Very well." Nick allowed. "But keep it professional, no fan boy, alright?"

"Fan boy?" Jackson questioned, "Who do you think I am, Coulson's son?"

Tony shook his head as the two left, "Great, now I'm the third wheel."

**IN A BACK ALLEY OF MANHATTAN:**

The dark back alley, covered mostly in trash, and partly in shadow, was silent for a brief moment, before a thin figure with short, choppy brown hair dashed in, carrying a small bundle and looking around wildly in desperation before diving into the nearest dumpster, silently closing the lid shut behind them, carefully holding the small brown bagged bundle.

Within a few seconds, the alley was filled with six men, looking around wildly. "Where'd the little punk go?" One of the men demanded.

The men, a bit nervous over their apparent leader's temper, shrugged, and one piped up, "I swear, I saw her run in here!"

The leader turned to the man, "Oh, did you now?"

The man, suddenly realizing he had directed the leader's temper at himself, said, "Well, y-yeah, I did Andy, I did…"

Andy glared daggers at him, "Well then, where is the little thief?"

The man shuddered, "I, I guess she went somewhere else?"

Andy's glare turned into a horrifying smirk, "Well then, you were wrong."

"Y-yeah I g-guess I was…" The man said, his knees shaking.

"You know what the punishment is for that right?" Andy asked.

The man, sweating like a pig, stuttered painfully, unable to say it.

"Speak up!" Andy commanded.

The man shuddered, fear overwhelming him. "Blood atonement."

The thin figure hiding in the dumpster nearly choked, horrified they had brought on something like that. Blood atonement was this gang's highest punishment. They would take a machete, cut off both thumbs, shred both ears, remove both knee caps, and then, and only then, would they slit the throat. All with the machete.

Andy snapped his fingers, and the man was grabbed, and held still while Andy took out a machete. Even from the small crack in the lid that the figure was staring through, they could see that the machete was dull, to dull. They would be at it for at least ten minutes. The figure grit their teeth, it was inhuman!

Andy raised the machete, paying no attention to the man's pleads for mercy.

"Stop!" Cried the figure, jumping up and flinging the lid open, the brown bagged package still pressed tightly to their chest.

Everyone was still as a car passed the alley, showing the figure as a teenage girl, brown ragged hair covering her eyes completely, tattered clothes, and over all, disgustingly dirty. The girl climbed up on the dumpster lid, holding the package carefully. She had risked her life to get it, but she couldn't let it this man, even though he was a total stranger, be killed, not in that way.

"You say being wrong means blood atonement!" Shrieked the girl, "Well, what does thievery call for!"

Andy dropped the machete, unimpressed with the girl, and grabbed her by the hair, dragging her down from the dumpster and tearing the package out of her arms, before tossing her to two other men, who grabbed her arms and held her in place, while the other man was released. He reached into the package, pulling out what he had nearly killed a member of his gang over, a loaf of bread.

He smirked, putting it back into the package, and tossing it to the man he had nearly killed, and turning to the girl. "You wanna know the punishment punk?"

The girl nodded, and Andy smirked, "Blood atonement."

She rolled her eyes, "Wow, you sure are an inventive lot."

Andy picked up the machete, but before he could approach, the girl sprung away form the man, wrists twisting from their hold, and a knife in her hand, and a purposeful look on her mostly hidden features.

"This is reason." She mumbled, taking out a shuriken from her back pocket.

Andy turned towards his mean, "Well what are you waiting for? Get her!"

The girl bobbed and weaved out of their punches and knives, taking care to attack none of them herself until she was out of the circle of fire, and in front of Andy, bringing the knife down on his neck swiftly, careful to make it quick.

She whirled around to the other men standing there, grasping her unused shuriken in a death grip, waiting.

The first man charged, and she threw the shuriken with skill, embedding it into his throat. She quickly withdrew more throwing stars, taking precise aim, and in mere moments, three more fell to the ground, throwing stars embedded in their throats and eyes.

The girl turned towards the only man left, the one who's life she had saved. "The bread, please." She requested, in a quiet, yet powerful voice.

She man quickly threw the bag to her, falling to his knees, "Please! Don't kill me, I've got kids!"

She looked at him as if he were stupid, "If I wanted you dead, I would have just let him kill you."

The man paused, looking up at the girl strangely. "You're… letting me go?"

She nodded, "Leave."

The man jumped up, running from the alley.

The girl sighed, putting her knife back in the strap around her right thigh, "And that was honor."

She turned back to the dead bodies, gritting her teeth at what had to be done. Throwing stars weren't cheap, and she was hungry.


	3. Axe And Hammer

Fury looked over the crudely draw map, and information. "So this Clyde kid, what exactly does he do?"

Tyson smirked, "Not much. When he came in, all he could do was talk. Then, they triggered his X-gene scientifically. Messed the kid up a lot."

"What does he do?" Fury asked again, getting tired of the drama the kid was attempting to hint at.

"He takes pain away." Tyson said quietly. "When I first got the flame throwing fists, I burned my hands so bad, they thought I would never be able to use them again."

Tyson sighed, shaking his head, "So they got Clyde to help me. He can touch you, and take away your pain. Any injury, stab wound, burn, anything! It's just immediately gone."

Fury frowned, "The pain?"

"Yeah, and the wound to." He held up his hands, "Scars stay though."

Jackson's eyes widened, his hands were a mangle of scar tissue and angry red looking skin, probably from his recent break down. "Wow."

Tyson smirked at the younger kid, impressed by the simple scars. "There was only one problem with Clyde though."

Fury raised an eyebrow, "What?"

Tyson frowned, as if trying to not remember some bad memory. "When he took it away, it had to go somewhere." He shivered a little, and the guards tensed, gripping the extinguishers tightly. "So, it went to him. He'd take it, take it all. He'd try not to scream, but… he's only fifteen now, he was around nine or ten when they first brought him in."

Jackson's eyes couldn't get any wider, "He… so, when he healed you, he would get the wound?"

Tyson shook his head, "No, not the wound, just the pain."

"For how long?" Jackson asked.

Tyson shrugged, "I don't know, we didn't see each other that much. And we weren't exactly _encouraged _to talk to each other."

"And the girl?" Fury asked, "Any other information on her?"

Tyson shook his head, "I have no idea what she can do. I only saw her once. Clyde might know more."

Fury nodded, turning to Tony, who had been silent through this, "Get ready, you've got a mission."

"Junior's coming with me." Tony demanded.

"Your son, your call." Fury allowed.

Jackson smiled, "Awesome!"

Tyson spoke up, "They've got a lot of people there."

Fury looked at the papers again, "Nearly four hundred?"

Tyson nodded, "Probably more."

Fury shook his head, "How could we not know of a terrorist group this big?"

"They don't use phones, or e-mail." Tyson said, "They're off the grid too, they generate their own energy with techniques they stole from Stark Industries."

Tony's eyes widened, "What! My company?"

Tyson nodded, "Yeah, they're pretty good at hacking."

Fury sighed, "Four hundred men… I can't just send you two in."

Tony groaned, "Oh great, who ya gonna send? I'm requesting the ninja spider."

"Black Widow will be going." Fury assured, "As will the rest of you."

"Wait, what?" Tony asked.

Fury nodded, "The Avengers have a new mission." He looked to Agent Hill, "See that each one of them is ordered to base, we'll need everyone we can get."

She nodded, "Yes sir."

She left quickly, having a long list of calls to make.

Tony groaned, "Oh great, reunion time."

Jackson's eyes brightened with excitement, "Awesome!"

**WITH JANE:**

I sighed contentedly as I laid in bed, strong yet soft hands encircled around my waist, and warm breath on my neck.

Thor stirred a little, tightening his hands around my waist slightly, and pressing his lips to my ear. "Good morning my lady."

Thor's voice, instead of booming, was soft, and comforting. I chuckled, "Good morning."

I rolled over so I was facing him, "Well, well, well, the mighty Thor is bored, isn't he?"

Thor chuckled, "I wouldn't say that, you and Tama keep me very entertained."

I looked over at the clock, "Speaking of Tama, shouldn't she be up by now?"

He smiled at the mention of our child, "Well, she was up quite early this morning, claiming her grandmother contacted her in a dream saying she wanted her to visit. Most likely she just wanted to go to Asguard."

I rolled my eyes, "So you just let her go?"

"I took her there myself." Thor assured.

I sighed, "When will she be back?"

"Later today, I am sure." Thor said, getting out of bed. "She does enjoy seeing her grandparents."

I smirked, "Your mother spoils that girl."

Thor chuckled, "How can she not? Have you see Tama lately? She's adorable, no grandmother can resist such a pretty princess of Asguard."

I laughed, "Alright, I'll admit it, we made a freakin adorable child."

"She has her father's good looks." Thor said.

"And thankfully, her mother's brain." I contradicted.

"I am not that dim witted." Thor complained.

"You thought the street was sparkling." I reminded him.

"I know, I know!" Thor cut me off, "It was just broken glass."

I chuckled, when my cell phone rang. I picked it up quickly, answering it, "Hello?"

"This is S.H.I.E.L.D. calling, we need to speak to Thor." A woman's voice said swiftly.

"Alright." I said, handing the phone to Thor, "No smashing the phone thinking it ate a human again."

"Scooter's honor." He promised.

"Scout's honor."

"That too."

I groaned, getting out of bed and walking into the kitchen, where Tama was surprisingly sitting at the counter, eating cereal. "When did you get home?"

"Five point eighteen seconds ago." Thank you Jesus for giving my daughter my brain calculator.

"How were your grandparents?" I asked, starting the coffee machine.

"Good." She said, smiling happily, "Grandma gave me a present!"

I smiled at her excitement, "What was it this time?"

She smiled, reaching behind the counter and holding up a silver and pink crown, placing it on her head triumphantly, "I'm a princess!"

I laughed, I couldn't help it. Thor came out of the bedroom, looking disappointed, but when he saw his daughter, he chuckled, "Very cute."

She giggled, pleased with her gift. "I had to come home early, Granddaddy said you needed me."

Thor raised an eyebrow, "I do?"

She nodded, "He told me to say, it is time."

Thor looked shocked, "But… you're so young."

I frowned, "Thor, what's going on."

Thor sighed, "Last year, around summer, Father had an audience with me. He made it clear that we are no where near immortal, and as my first born, Tama would have to take over for me one day, and that only he shall know when that time is."

I shook my head, "No! Why would she even need to- what did S.H.I.E.L.D. want?"

Thor shrugged, "Terrorists group, they need everyone they can get on board."

Tama grinned, "Does that mean I'm coming?"

"No!" I snapped, turning to Thor, "She's only nine!"

Thor sighed, grabbing my shoulders, "Odin has wisdom we do not, if he demands she comes, there is reasoning behind the request."

I shook my head, "She's not ready, and I refuse to allow this! Do you hear me? She's not going!"

Thor looked at Tama, "Can you go outside?"

She sighed, leaving the room, "You know I can hear from out here, right?"

Thor turned to me, "I know you're angry, I am too."

"No you're not!" I snapped, "You're not doing anything about this!"

"He is my father." He said evenly, "I _must _abide by his wishes."

"Tell him no!" I commanded.

"You know I cannot." He insisted. "I promise, she will not leave my side, I will be right next to her, never taking my eye off her. I swear to you, nothing will harm our child."

I shook my head, "Thor-"

"Do you really think a few terrorists can stop the mighty Thor?" He questioned.

I sighed, "If she comes home with so much as a scratch-"

He broke me off, laughing, "Trust me, she will be the one doing the 'scratching'!"

I raised an eyebrow, "Something I'm missing here?"

He smiled, walking over to the cabinets, pulling out a small pairing knife that I had never really used, and turning to me, smiling, while jerking the knife to the side quickly. The knife immediately grew, flailing out into a huge, and I mean gigantic, war axe, taller than Thor.

My eyes widened, "Wow… if I had known that was there… I probably wouldn't have bothered with a bottle opener."

He chuckled, "Father told me to give this to her when she was ready. It is time."

I sighed, "Just keep her safe Thor."

"Of course."

**AT THE HELICARRIER:**

Nick looked a the table, occupied by Hawkeye, Black Widow, Iron Man, Iron Man's son Jackson, Dr. banner, Captain America, Thor, and his apparent daughter. Fury sighed, "Thor, you brought a nine year old with you because…?"

Thor shrugged, "My father's wishes must be obeyed."

Tony snorted, "Of course."

Jackson piped up, "How come she get's to be here! She's nine!"

"And you're twelve." Dr. banner reminded him.

"Three years older!" Jackson protested.

"Age is never taken into account on Asguard." Thor dismissed, "We measure respect and capability by actions and strengths, not age."

Tama beamed, "I get to help!"

"Yes." Answered Thor. "I've told you that several times."

"I'm so excited!" She said, literally bouncing up and down in her chair.

"Don't sweat it Fury." Tony said, "I'm sure this kid can help, whenever the bad guys try to do anything, she'll just cutify them to death."

"Yeah!" Tama agreed, "Wait- what?"

Jackson laughed, "You're such a baby!"

She raised an eyebrow, "And you're a momma's boy!"

He gasped, "I am not! And even if I was, you're a Daddies little girl!"

She beamed, "And proud of it!"

"TEAM!" Fury shouted.

Natasha gave Clint a look out of the corner of her eyes, "This is why I'm never having kids."

He chuckled, a smirk playing on his lips, "Agreed."

Fury continued, "You all know about the pyrotechnic we subdued in New York last month. Well, we finally got him to calm down, turns out there's a huge terrorist group that made him do that, and they've got two other subjects there."

Fury tossed three files onto to the table, "I want them back here, unharmed, and out of harms way by tomorrow morning."

He walked out, and Jackson grabbed the top file, leafing through it quickly before stopping, pulling out a photo of a teenage girl with long brown hair, "Why hello."

Tony grabbed the photo, "Oh come on, really junior?"

Jackson snatched it back, "Leave me alone."

Tony looked a the file, "She's like- fifteen, and you're twelve!"

Jackson shrugged, "She's hot."

Clint rolled his eyes, looking over a map of the facility, agreeing with Natasha more than ever, "Seems simple enough to get in."

Natasha nodded, "We're gonna have to have at least three people on crowd control, if there is in fact four hundred or more terrorists there, we need to make sure they don't start trampling each other trying to get away."

"Knock out gas?" Captain America suggested.

"Good idea Cap." Tony smirked.

The Avengers were back in business.


	4. Once A Circus Freak

Tyson bit his lower lip as he slowly walked up behind General Fury. "Uh, sir?"

Nick looked over his shoulder, "Shouldn't you be in your solitary confinement cell?"

Tyson shrugged, "I burned off the hinges of the door."

"There were security cameras."

"I melted those too."

Fury sighed, shaking his head, "You needed something?"

"I wanna go with the Avengers." Tyson explained, "I… those terrorists, they took everything from me!"

"And you want revenge." Nick said, turned to look at Tyson.

"Not revenge." Tyson corrected, "I want justice." He stopped for a moment, glaring down at his hands, "And… is it so bad if I wanna be the one to do it?"

"No." Fury said, "But how do you expect to get back at all four hundred of them?"

"I don't." Tyson explained, "There's this one guy there… he's Asian, about five foot eight, and he act's like he's God." Tyson shook his head, "The guy is insane! He's even tried to convince us that what they subjected us to was what we were meant for, why we were even created in the first place. I just… I really wanna deal with him myself." Tyson said, desperately trying to get Fury to agree. "After all he's ever done to me, I know I deserve to sock him in the face myself."

Fury gave the boy an even look, "I'm not debating that you should be able to, but I've already spoken with my superiors. We're doing this by the books, no heroics, no risks. You can't go, not only are you not a member of S.H.I.E.L.D. but your unstable to the point where even if you were I couldn't send you."

Tyson clenched his fists, "That's not fair, I deserve that! I've earned the right to take him down myself!"

Fury nodded, reaching for a tazer on his belt, "I know that, but I still can't authorize it. You'd be a danger to everyone on my team, and everyone in that facility, even your friend Clyde."

Tyson shook his head vigorously as his fists started to heat up. "No I won't!"

Fury glared at him, "Calm down!"

"No!" Tyson shouted, "You listen to me-"

Fury quickly shot out the tazer, catching Tyson right in the neck. Tyson sputtered, jerking violently before falling to the ground. Fury immediately took out him comm. link, speaking into it, "Agent Hill please take Gimple to a new cell, let's make it fireproof this time."

"Yes sir." She answered. She never asked questions, part of the reason she was his most useful operative.

**WITH THE AVENGERS:**

Transportation was never an issue with the Avengers, so getting to the terrorist's building entrance was no issue.

"Widow, you in yet?" Captain asked over the comm.

"Yes." She whispered, slipping in through a broken window, creeping through the hallway.

Tony piped up, "Me and junior are on the roof, ready to go here."

Hawkeye's voice came next, "I'm on the next roof over, ready to pick up any strays."

This was a mission of containment, not an all out battle like the Loki incident. Hawkeye would be best over here. As soon as he could though, he' be rushing to the fight inside.

"Thor?" Captain America asked.

"Tama and I are ready by the back entrance." Thor responded.

Tama looked up at him as he took out a small knife, "Tama, daughter of Thor, Grandchild of Odin," He twisted the knife, making it turn into a battle axe twice Tama's size, "Your training begins now, are you prepared to fight, for fight the rest of your life, for Asguard?"

Tama carefully took the battle axe in her hands, grunting a little, "It's… heavy."

"Is it to much?" Thor asked, ready to send her home and safe with Jane the moment she said yes.

She shook her head slowly, looking at the perfectly crafted axe with an affection one would give to a pet. She answered in a soft whisper. "No."

Thor could not help a small grin of pride creep onto his face. "Very well."

Tony looked to Jackson, "You ready junior?"

Jackson smirked, but Tony couldn't see it through the metal helmet, "Born that way."

Tony chuckled, "Your suit up and ready?"

"Since I put it on."

"How's your battery?"

"Still got five hours left."

"Good. Jarvis, any flaws in the suit I should know?"

"None detectible sir." Jarvis said, always faithful.

"Alright, we're ready." Tony concluded.

"Hey Dad?" Jackson asked.

"Hmm?"

"This was the best birthday, ever!" Jackson said excitedly.

Tony looked shocked, "Well, after all we've been through today, it had better be!"

"Guys." Natasha snapped, "Mission first, fluffy son and father moments later."

"Shut up old lady." Jackson hissed.

There was a short silence, before Natasha spoke again, "Tony you might wanna talk to Pepper about getting a back up kid."

Tony shrugged when Jackson realized he had brought down the fury of the spider. "Sorry kid, oh well, I can always have another."

"Hey!"

"Mission." Captain hissed out through the comm.

"Fine!" Hissed Tony.

"Black Widow, are we clear to go?" Captain asked.

"Yes." She said after a moments pause, "I can hear them, they all seem to be in the lower levels."

Tony did a quick scan of the building from the room down, "Yeah, they're all in the lower five levels, I can just make out two younger looking ones, Clyde and that girl Tyson was talking about."

"What's the plan?" Jackson asked.

Captain cleared his throat, "Alright, Widow, Iron Man, and Junior rush in first, deploy the gas, and keep your gas masks on. Soon as Tony's scanners say that most of the men are down, we'll all go in. Let's try and take them all alive, alright?"

"Whatever helps you sleep." Hawkeye said coldly. Clint didn't consider himself to be a big fan of kids, but thinking of someone doing the things they did to these kids, it really made him want to kill them all. Who did that, to children? An adult, he could almost shrug it off and move on, but children? Someone was going to die, preferably all of them.

"Now." Captain said firmly.

Black Widow took off at a run down the hall, sliding down stares and barging into the first room, tossing in the first canister, and quickly ducking back out, slamming the door shut, and then shooting the handle at an angel that the bullet was caught between the door and the wall like a deadbolt, so it wouldn't be opening anytime soon.

Iron Man and Jackson rushed in themselves, flying down the hallways. Jackson stumbled around a bit, "Where's the knock out gas launcher?"

"Below the elbow, right next to the energy cannon." Tony reminded him.

Jackson fired one into the next room, seeing the canister nail one of the men right in the head before landing on the ground releasing the gas. "This is so cool!"

Tony laughed, "Just wait until I upgrade your suit."

"There's more?" Jackson questioned, shooting another canister as they came to the end of the hallway, "Yippee!"

"Keep it professional." Natasha snapped.

Jackson cringed, she was going to kill him for calling her an old lady. Hey, she was thirty two, and he was twelve, she was an old lady to him. "Sorry."

"Let the kid fly Widow." Tony said jokingly, "I built the suit without a leash for a reason."

"Yeah." Hawkeye mumbled, "To make an annoying clone of yourself."

"Aren't I brilliant?" Tony joked.

"And brilliance enhances with each generation." Jackson piped in.

There was silence for a while, until Natasha spoke up, "Okay, I've got all these guys down for the count. How about you two?"

Tony launched one last canister, "Done, it's cool to come in now guys."

Captain is the first one through the door, Bruce right behind him. Natasha looked to the nearest window, watching as Hawkeye shot off a grappling arrow, and swinging across to land on the window, shattering it quickly and taking a moment to gain his balance on the ledge.

In the corner of her eye, Natasha sees movement, and she looks to see one man standing up slowly, he's Asian, and his dark eyes are gleaming with hate. Before anyone can react, the man pulls out a grenade, and hurls it at the window.

Clint can't even move, and it blows up , sending him flying.

"NO!" Natasha screams, running to the window to grab him, but with horror she sees him fly across the street, landing right into a dumpster.

There's silence for a moment, until Tama piped up, "Dad, did Hawkeye aim for that?"

Before Tony or Jackson could laugh, or anyone else can glare, the Asian man jump up, rushing for what he thought was the weak link, Tama.

Thor reaches for his hammer, but before he can do anything, Tama swings around her axe, hitting the man upside the head with the flat edge, purposefully not using the blade. She might be an Asguardian, but she is no warrior who can kill an enemy, even the most wicked one.

Captain turned to Natasha, "Widow, go get Hawkeye." She immediately started sprinting for the stairs to get outside, and he turned to the others, "Let's find those kids."

**IN THE ALLEY:**

The girl with brown choppy hair is leafing through a dumpster, searching for food that she wouldn't die from eating. She grunts, brushing her dirty hair out of her face with an equally dirty hand, only to have it fall right back into her eyes. Before she could really give her bangs attention, an explosion sounded from across the street, and she looked up just in time to see a man fly from the building across the street, crashing right into her.

She shrieked, Shoving his body off of hers and drawing out a throwing knife no bigger than her thumb, holding it against his throat, "Are you insane!?"

When he doesn't answer, she realized that he must be dead. A fall from that far away, yeah that could kill someone alright.

She grunts again, wiggling out of the dumpster, and staring back in at him. She raised her eyebrow, was he holding a bow?

She frowned, looking him over, he looked like he might have some valuables on him. She smirked, what luck! A few years ago, she never would have thought about looting a dead body, but street urchins needed to eat, and what was a dead man going to do with a few bills that he might have had in his wallet, or a knife she might could sell at a pawn shop, or just use herself. She was always short on knives.

She grabbed his shoulder quickly, pulling the body out of the dumpster none to gently. As soon as he hit the ground, he let out a long groan, and she stepped back, "You're alive?"

He moves then, starting to sit up, "Where-"

The girl grabs her knife, bringing the butt of it down on his head sharply, "Stop moving!"

He flops to the ground uselessly again, and the girl looks around, if this guy was in some kind of gang war, which is probably considering he got exploded out of a building, they might come looking for his body. Gang's didn't find the dead to mourn and bury them, they found their dead so as to take ammo, guns, knives, or even to make sure the body was beyond recognition, so as their gang would not be tracked by a particular gang tattoo.

The girl grabbed him by his shoulder again, dragging him to a door on the side of the alley. "You're heavy."

She quickly unlocks the door with a key from her pocket, dragging him inside and locking it behind her. "Good thing I live right next door to your almost-death-sight."

She grabbed him again, dragging him through the filthy building and onto a couch that looks like it'll fall apart of a moth were to sit on it. However, she dumps him on the couch without decorum, looking him over as he laid there unconscious.

Her eyes travel over the bow, taking from him, and holding it up. It look like if she pushed on both ends it would- it suddenly snapped close, answering her theory. She flailed it out, making it snap back into a bow again. "Nice."

She removed his quiver next, noting how several arrows were different, some had a small box on their tips, making them top heavy. She was no archer, but she figured that would make them top heavy, and useless.

It didn't look useless though, they looked high-tech. She paused for a moment, remembering an odd scene in her past life.

Bright colors, laughter, applause, and a ring master, standing in the center of a circus, shouting to the crowd, "Let's give her a big hand folks, the amazing Brantley!"

She let the scene fade, tuning back to the unconscious man, and nearly gasping, what was she thinking!? This guy looked capable of punching her brain clear out of her skull! A build like his wasn't often seen on the street, strong shoulders and arms, nimble legs, wrists, and fingers.

"He's gonna kill me." She whispered, before a grin broke out on her face, "Unless I'm gone when he wakes up."

A voice outside her door stopped her, a woman's voice, shouting, "Hawkeye!? Hawkeye? Clint!? Where are you!?"

The girl's eyes widened behind her bangs, this man was Hawkeye of the Avengers.

She bit her lip, looking down at the weapons that might have set her up with plenty of food for weeks if she went to the right buyer. She shook her head, she couldn't steal like that, not from a hero like him.

She waited until the woman outside went away, before looking at the man in front of her.

She immediately grabbed an old ragged rope from a crate lying in front of the man on the couch, tying his hands behind his back, and likewise with his legs. Okay, so maybe this was still being disrespectful to a hero, but… oh well, what did she care? Not like he had ever done anything for her, this guy was just another steal, another job.


	5. Just The Begining

I frowned, fiddling with the end of the arrow, seriously, what did this little box do? I took out a knife, prying the side of the box off carefully with the edge of the blade. Inside there was a small wheel of wound up cord. I frowned, wait, was this some kind of grappling hook arrow, or whatever it's supposed to be called?

I frowned, it looked like you were supposed to fire it at whatever building you wanna grapple, then hook the other end up to wherever you already where. Well what were you supposed to use to zip line across? I looked down at the bow in my hand, oh, maybe that's what you had to use.

I put the box back together quickly, and took out another arrow, it had a small box as well, but it had what looked like a digital clock on the side you were supposed to set, then it would count down from that setting. Was this thing a bomb!

I shivered, carefully placing that one back, and looking at Hawkeye, he was still soundly unconscious. I wonder what life is like for him, to go wherever he'd needed, helping people who were in trouble. To soar overhead, shooting down arrows with precision, knowing that no one can match his skill. A hero, a symbol, an assassin ready to kill.

I shrugged, pulling on the quiver. I held the bow up, pulling on the string gently, testing it. I bit my lip, looking over at Hawkeye, still sleeping. I took out an arrow, making sure it was a normal one, and loaded it, but I didn't pull the string back yet.

I had never used a bow before, it had always been knives. An aunt of mine had been an archer, but I had never really thought about taking up the trick. Oh well, it couldn't be that hard, right?

I pulled it back, taking careful aim at an old beer bottle resting on a crate that had been there since I moved in. I took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. _Just like grandpa told you, you're all alone. All alone in your own little world, just you, your knife, and that bottle._

I let go of the arrow string, and it shot through the air, hitting the neck of the bottle, breaking it. I smirked, I may be cursed, but it could on occasion be a pretty cool gift.

"Who taught you to do that?"

I whirled around, seeing Hawkeye, out of his ropes, staring at me. "Uh… what?"

He narrowed his eyes, "I'm going to ignore the fact you stole my bow and arrows, and ask you again, who taught you to do that?"

I loaded another arrow, pointing it at Hawkeye, "None of your business Clint."

He raised an eyebrow, and I shrugged, "That's what that lady from earlier kept calling you. I think she was looking for you."

"Natasha?"

"How should I know?" I said, frowning.

He snorted, as if slightly amused but annoyed at the same time, "What are you gonna do, shoot me?"

I nodded, "If I have to." I'm a liar. I'm not gonna kill this guy, he's an Avenger, he saved the whole entire Earth! That deserves some mercy, if not respect.

He just smirked, like it was all a big joke. "You've got killer in your eyes girl?" He stepped up slowly, grabbing the end of the bow, and glaring at me, "I don't see it."

I bit my tongue, and he started to pull the bow away. I spun, twisting the bow out of his hold and bringing it down on his head harshly.

He grunted, swinging a punch at me. I ducked, trying to kick his feet out from under him, but he dodged easily.

I backed up, slinging the bow over my shoulder, and taking out a throwing star.

He snorted, "A shuriken? You think you're a ninja?"

"Pretty close." I mumbled, throwing it at him.

He dodged, and frowned, "Okay, now who taught you to do _that_?"

"Not. Your. Business." I stressed.

"Fine, give me my stuff and I'll leave." He offered.

I looked at the bow and quiver over my shoulder, then back to Hawkeye, "Sorry, but… no. Nothing personal, but these weapons are gonna fetch a really good price, and in case you haven't noticed, I could use some new shoes."

He snuck a glance down at my shoes, a knock off of Vans, once had been black but now faded grey. The laces had broken a long time ago, and the front of the shoe was peeling off. Over all, they were held together, literally, but duck tape.

He shrugged, "That's not my problem."

I didn't care, "Wasn't expecting sympathy."

"Well I wasn't expecting a thieving little punk to steal my stuff." He shot back.

"I'm not a thief." I snapped.

"What do you call what you just did now?"

"Surviving." I threw more shuriken, and he dodged easily, weaving in and out of the attacks.

I reached into my pocket to pull out another, but froze. I was out.

I grabbed the knife strapped to my thigh. "This is reason."

He paused, "What?"

I slashed at him, aiming for anything I could get. He retaliated, dodging my knife's blows and returning with his own. I weaved in and out of his punches and kicks, until he grabbed my wrist harshly yanking me out of my fighting stance and shoving my face first into a wall.

"Stay still you little-"

I cut him off, putting both my feet against the wall and shoving off, making him fall backwards, me on top of him. I whirled around, hitting him in the forehead with the butt of the knife again, and his head slammed into the floor.

I jumped back, clutching the knife tightly, he was out again. I sighed in relief, it was a good thing he was probably hurt a lot in that fall, otherwise, I would have never been able to knock him out. This guy was good.

I frowned, how bad was he hurt? I kneeled beside him yanking his leather shirt up with some difficulty, and was met with a gnarl of blue and purple bruises. "Yikes, that _was _a nasty little fall."

Suddenly, there was a banging on the door, "Hawkeye! Clint!"

Time to leave. I ran for the window, opening it quietly and slipping through it, stepping onto the fire escape outside. I took out an arrow, making sure it was a grappling line, and shooting it to a building half a block down. I stuck the other end to the edge of the fire escape, and slung the bow over it, taking in a deep breath, "Come on, it's not that far up…" I looked down, three stories. "Okay it's high up."

The woman outside fired shots into the door, shooting through the lock, and busting in. Her eyes flickered wildly around the room, seeing first Hawkeye, then me. Rage flashed in her face, "Who are you!"

"Uh… bye." I sputtered, jumping off the ledge and swinging away.

I shred down the line, hitting the roof hard and rolling, banging my head against the concrete roof. I looked back to the fire escape, and yanked my knife back out, slicing the line quickly. I don't need tag-a-longs.

**WITH THE AVENGERS:**

Captain America walked briskly down the hall, Thor and Tama trailing behind him. Tama was the first to break the silence, "So, what's gonna happen to the kids when we get them out of here?"

"I guess General Fury will have them put in good homes who can handle kids from situations like this." Steve answered.

Thor raised an eyebrow, "A home that can handle Tyson?"

Steve sighed, "Well, Tyson's already seventeen, in a year he can live on his own, so they probably won't bother with him, he's got to many issues to sort out anyways. Fury told me Tyson nearly attacked him when he refused to let him come with us."

Thor cocked his head to the side, "Why?"

"Apparently he wants revenge on what these guys did to him."

"And Fury denied him this?" Thor questioned, "That does not make sense, he has been wronged, he deserves a reckoning."

"He's to unstable to fight without endangering everyone around him." Steve explained, "Meaning us."

Thor finally nodded, "It makes sense I suppose, but it is still unfair."

Tama nodded in agreement with her father, her white pigtails bouncing with the movement. "Yeah."

Steve opened the last door on the hall carefully, "Anyone in here?"

There was dead silence, until a soft whimper broke through the oblivion. Steve entered the room carefully, looking around for the source of the sound, "Hello?"

Another whimper. He took a few more steps, walking around lab equipment, noting the metal surgical table, with broken restraints. He peeked behind the table, coming face to face with a teenage boy, curled into a ball so that the only thing you could see of him was his hair.

Blonde hair that spiked up unnaturally, each strand standing almost completely straight up. It looked like a characters from one of those goofy cartoons he had seen. The boy looked up at him in fear, trying to crawl away from him franticly.

"Hey, wait!" Steve said, stepping forward.

The boy immediately screamed, tossing his hands over his head in weak defense.

Steve turned to Thor and Tama, "You two go help Tony and Junior, I'll take care of him."

They left and Steve kneeled down, still about five feet from the boy.

"It's okay." He said, trying to sound comforting, which he didn't know how to do. The only person who he had found comforting was his mother. "No one's gonna hurt you anymore."

The boy shivered, looking over at Steve, not convinced. Steve sighed, he wasn't that good with kids. "You're friends with Tyson right?"

The boy nodded, and Steve tried to smile, "He sent us to help you, we've taken care of all the bad guys, okay?"

The boy nodded again, and Steve couldn't help thinking maybe he wasn't so bad with kids. "Come on then, I'll take you to Tyson. He said your name was Clyde, right?"

Clyde nodded, and for the first time, spoke, "If… if I come with you… do I get food?"

Steve wished he hadn't been so humane with the terrorists. "Sure kid."

Clyde nodded, and Steve timidly picked the young boy up, he couldn't be more then eleven, and he was here, in a terrorist's laboratory, instead of elementary school. Playing baseball, riding bikes, and playing cooties with the girls.

**WITH IRON MAN AND JACKSON:**

Tony opened the third door in the hallway, and Jackson peeped in, immediately being met with grunts and screams. His eyes widened, seeing a girl strapped to a laboratory table, struggling to make the leather bonds looser, to escape.

Jackson rushed over, pulling the leather strap off her hands, "Are you okay?"

She glared at him, "Do ah look okay Tin man?"

For a moment, he's taken back by her surprisingly Cajun accent. "Uh, I guess not."

She sits up, yanking off restraints, and then glaring at him, "Why are ya here?"

"Getting you out." He explains.

She hopped off the bench, glaring at him then Iron Man, "Well ya'll sure done took long 'nuff."

There's one more thing about her that makes him surprised, "Uh… in your picture you kind of had… brown hair-"

"And now it's green, ah know!" She snapped again. "Stupid part of mah mutation. Changed my hair to green."

Jackson cleared his throat, not used to dealing with a southern accented angry woman. "Well, uh… Ma'am, we don't exactly know your name, so if you would care to-"

"Jade." She said quickly, walking past Iron Man out of the room, "Jade Jones."

He smirked, "Jade Jones?"

"Whateva alliteration joke ya 'bout ta make, ah've heard it." She snapped, "Now, we getting outta here, or not?"

She took off down the hallway, leaving the two metal covered men in shock.

**BACK AT AVENGERS HELICARRIER:**

Fury raised an eyebrow at Hawkeye, "So, she knocked you out, and took off, with your weapons?"

He nodded, "From the fall I was injured and not prepared to fight anyone, even a common street punk."

Everyone was silent for a moment, some because they heard something in Hawkeye's tone that suggested there was more than that, Tony wasn't one of them. "You got mugged by a teenage girl!"

He went into a fit of laughter, until Natasha slapped him upside the head, "Tony! He's got three broken ribs and a concussion, cut the guy some slack."

"He should of asked the… the teenage girl to give him some slack!" He kept laughing, tears gathering in his eyes.

Clint glared at him, "Stark, shut up."

Tony kept laughing, until Nick finally said, "Perhaps you should wait in the hallway Stark."

Tony stood up, stumbling out the door, and clumsily shutting it behind him, but everyone at the table could still his laughter through the door.

Steve cleared his throat, "Uh sir, where are the kids?"

Nick folded his arms behind his back, "Both children are getting a much needed night's sleep. They'll get medical attention tomorrow, and we'll have a therapist come in and see how long it'll take for them to be processed, and either put into a foster home, or track down their relatives and have them put back into their appropriate homes."

Steve bit his tongue gently, and then sighed, "And if they can't be treated?"

Nick frowned, "Rogers?"

"I mean… I saw that kid, he looked like… I can't even explain it, I just… are you sure he can ever recover from something like that?" Steve questioned gently.

Dr. Banner looked over at Steve, concerned. He had known Steve for twelve years, he had known him to be sympathetic, but he had always managed to shrug it off, consider them casualties of war, and eventually get over it. He could tell, whatever he had seen in that boy, had truly gotten to him.

Nick sighed, "Well, I'm not sure. We'll cross that bridge when we get there. They're young, they bounce back rather well at thirteen. Jade wasn't there for very long, so she'll be able to get home or the next best thing much quicker."

Dr. banner spoke up for the first time, "And Tyson?"

Fury paused, "He's nearly eighteen, once he gets a handle on his abilities, I might recruit him. He's to old to be able to be cured completely. We'll end up keeping him here one way or another."

Dr. Banner nodded, thoughtful.

Fury turned to Clint, "We'll get you a replacement bow by tomorrow morning-"

"Actually sir." Clint spoke up, "There's a tracker in the bow, I had it placed there if I should ever go missing behind enemy lines."

Fury frowned, "Why was I not aware of this?"

Natasha spoke up, "He thought the less people who knew the better."

Fury nodded, "So, what do you plan on doing then Agent Clint?"

"As soon as the doctors say I can, I'll go after the bow myself." Clint said.

"You don't think that's a little extreme?" Fury asked, "It's just a street kid."

"An eagle eyed street kid with Hawkeye's weapons." Clint reminded him.

Fury paused, "Very well then. What do you intend to do with the girl when you find her?"

Clint paused, "I'll give it some thought."

Fury nodded, "Dismissed."

Natasha stood up, walking out with Clint right behind her. It was Clint who spoke first, "Where you headed?"

Natasha answered quickly, "See how the kids are doing."

This was common for her, Widow always saw the mission through to the end.

"So, any report yet on the girl's powers?" Clint asked.

"I imagine they'll find out tomorrow." Natasha said, interested more than her tone let on. "How about that other girl, the one running around New York with your stuff?"

"She'll only have em for a few weeks." Clint said, "How much trouble could she possibly get into."

"You seem fixated." Natasha commented.

"She knows my name." Clint said, and Natasha's eyes widened, "She heard you say it."

"Oh…" Natasha mumbled. It was a strict policy to keep their real names a secret. "She's just a punk though, what could she ever do?"

"Sell the info." Clint said.

"Who'd believe her?"

"She's got my stuff, everyone will."

Natasha shrugged, "Well, that is a problem then."

**AT STARK TOWER:**

"It was awesome Mom!" Jackson said, taking a bit out of his pizza, "Just awesome! Everyone was screaming, and there were explosions, and hot chicks, and guns! It was just like that movie Heat!"

Pepper laughed, "Glad you had fun. Homework done?"

"Of course." Jackson said, rolling his eyes, "And no, Jarvis didn't do it for me."

Tony walked in, grabbing a piece of pizza and flopping down on the couch next to Pepper, "By the way junior you're grounded for hacking into Jarvis and stealing info from S.H.I.E.L.D."

"Aw man!" Jackson groaned, rolling his eyes, "For how long?"

"Rest of the weak." Tony ordered, turning on the TV to watch Family Guy.

Jackson snorted, crossing his arms across his chest, and Pepper laughed, "You hacked S.H.I.E.L.D.?"

Jackson nodded, and Pepper laughed, "I don't get why you're mad Tony, he's just like you!"

"He made my database look like it belonged on a Nintendo!" Tony snapped, then paused, "Okay you're right, I'm proud."

"So I'm off the hook?"

"No."

"Rats!"


	6. Therapy Doesn't Work When You Lie

The therapist, Dr. Corelli, looked across the table at the young boy, Clyde. A good night's sleep and a shower had done nothing to tame his hair, which still stood nearly straight up. "So, how did you sleep?"

He shrugged, "Okay I guess."

Dr. Corelli paused, "You're in a whole new place, surrounded by people you don't know, and from my understanding, you requested to see Tyson."

"They said no." Clyde mumbled, staring at the floor, "They said I couldn't see him."

Dr. Corelli nodded, "Did they say why?"

"He's… unstable, and angry." Clyde looked up at the man, "I bet he's angry cause they won't let him see me."

"How does it make you feel?" Dr Corelli asked, "Not being able to see your friend."

Clyde paused, "Scared."

"Why?"

Clyde looked up at Corelli, "Captain America… he said that he was friends with Tyson… but you won't even let me see him. It makes me scared because… I think that you're all lying, that you're just like the bad guys, and you're gonna use me like the last ones."

Corelli nodded, "Alright then, now that we've gotten that out of the way, how long where you with the terrorists?"

"Since I was nine."

"Who old are you now?"

"Thirteen." Clyde answered, "That's what Tyson told me. Where's Tyson?"

Corelli ignored him, "And your parents, what about them? Do you know where they are?"

Clyde shook his head, "No, and I don't remember where they used to be. Where's Tyson?"

Corelli still refused to answer him, "Do you remember the name of your old town, maybe your last address? Or even your parents names?"

"No!" Clyde snapped, "And I'm not saying anything else until I can see Tyson!"

"You can't see Tyson, he might hurt-"

"I want to see Tyson!" Clyde snapped, standing up on his chair, towering over Corelli, "And I want to see him now!"

Corelli sighed, "Clyde, calm down, Tyson is unstable, and you could get hurt if you-"

"Tyson would never hurt me!" Clyde screamed. "He's my best friend! You let me see Tyson now!"

Corelli shook his head, "I can't."

Clyde sat back down, "Then I'm not talking to you, not until I see him!"

**OUTSIDE THE ROOM:**

Nick watched through the one way mirror as Clyde ignored Dr. Corelli's attempts to speak to him. He looked over his shoulder at Dr. Banner, who was standing there, everything about his stance and his expression saying he was completely uncomfortable. "Something you wanted Banner?"

Bruce cleared his throat, "Last night, I was thinking about Tyson's predicament, and I had an idea for something that might help."

"Well don't keep it to yourself." Nick snapped.

Bruce held up a small, dark metal band, about as wide as a dime. "It can measure the adrenalin by feeling his pulse." He explained. "And when the adrenalin spikes, I've designed it to inject him with a dimmed down sedative. It won't knock him out, but it'll keep him calm."

Fury raised his eyebrow, "And what brought on this urge to help the kid?"

Bruce paused, before speaking, with more firmness and certainty than Fury had ever seen him muster. "I don't want him to end up like I used to be, off in a foreign country just so no one would recognize him."

Nick paused, "Alright, you can give it to him yourself."

**WITH TYSON:**

I stared at the ground, not even looking up when the door opened, the bottom hinge squeaking annoyingly. Not as annoying as the prison clothes they had me wear though. Orange jumpsuits were never my thing. I've been in 'em enough to hate 'em.

"Contemplating the meanings of the universe?" Asked a man, looked to be in his thirties, kind of like an older version of the nerds I used to pick on in middle school.

I raised my eyebrow, "No. I've got better things to do."

He chuckled, "Such as?"

"Wondering how many of you I need to ghost to get out of here."

"… Ghost?" He asked. Okay, he must have been a very sheltered child.

"Kill." I explained.

He frowned, "If Fury hears you talking like that, he's never going to let you out of here."

I shrugged, "Not like he's gonna let me out of here anyway."

He smiled a little, "Maybe with this he will."

He tossed my a small metal cylinder, looked like a bracelet. "What is it?"

"Put it on."

I glared at him, "I'm not putting on anything if I don't know what it is."

He chuckled again, "Smart move. It measures your adrenaline output, in other words, how angry and excited your getting, and if it gets to high, it'll inject a weak sedative into your blood stream. It won't knock you out, it's just strong enough to keep you-"

"Mellow?" I asked.

He chuckled again, "Yeah, mellow."

"So, I won't be able to use my powers, at all?" I asked, frowning.

"If your powers _are _totally dependant on your emotions, then yes, no lighters on your fingernails." He said, trying not to laugh at his own joke, "But if they're only acting on impulse at your fear, which is connected to your anger, then you should be able to generate flame once you get a handle on them. If that happens, you should be able to take the device off."

I nodded, slipping it on slowly, and immediately felt a gentile prick, like a needle. "Ouch! I thought you said this thing only stuck me when I'm angry!"

He raised an eyebrow, "Judging by the yelling, you are angry."

I took a deep breath, "Alright, this thing must work, can I come out now?"

The guy nodded, "Sure."

I followed him out, glaring at the timid looks I got from guards. I felt another prick from the bracelet, and I bit my lip. Needles beat solitary confinement any day.

**WITH JADE:**

I frowned at the therapist in front of me, "Really, Ah'm fine. Ah guess Ah was a bit freaked at the whole kidnapped thang, but ya'll got there 'fore anythang could happen. So, no trauma. Don't need a shrink. Ah'm ready to go home now, so how's 'bout it? Just take me home, or drop me off at a pay phone with a few dollars in quarters, Ah can manage."

Dr. Corelli frowned, "So, there's nothing you wanna talk about?"

"Nope."

"No need to talk about the fact you're suddenly a mutant?" Corelli asked.

She snorted, "Mah mutation didn't just pop up, Ah've been a bit forewarned for a few months that somethin' wasn't quite right."

"Really?" he asked, scribbling the new information down, "Tell me about it."

She shook her head, "No, that's mah business, now let me go home."

He sighed, "We can't. We have to make sure you're not a danger to the public."

She glared, "Ya can't do that, just cause Ah'm a mutant! Eva heard of the new human/mutant alike law? What ya tryin ta do is illegal!"

He shook his head, "It's not because you're a mutant, it's because you've been kidnapped and terrorized. We need to check out your mental sanity, so if you want to get home, wherever that may be, I suggest you cooperate."

She stared him down for a moment, before relenting, "It started out a few months ago. Ah would hear people talking, but no one ever opened their mouths."

He raised an eyebrow "You can read people's minds?"

She shook her head, "No, it wasn't living people Ah was hearing. After a few weeks of that, Ah tried to ignore it best Ah could. But then, Ah saw one."

"You saw… a ghost?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"That's just the thing… It wasn't a ghost, but it wasn't a person either. It was just a… a thing." She tried to explain. "She was so small… a child, but she talked so… she talked like she was a full grown woman, her voice was just… it was ice."

"He voice… was ice?" Corelli said, trying to understand.

"It was always this cold whisper, but it was like she wasn't whispering, more like… Ah just couldn't hear her clearly. Ah could tell by her mouth she wasn't whispering." She said, shaking her head. "She told me things, things Ah most certainly did not wanna hear. Said that Ah was different, that Ah was better than all the other kids at mah school, Ah was meant for more."

Corelli nodded, writing at an inhuman pace, "What did she look like exactly?"

Jade sighed, "Little girl, her skin was so pale she looked dead, blonde hair, nearly white. She had red eyes, and she was always wearing this white dress."

"White dress?" Corelli asked, raising an eyebrow. "Are you sure? This sounds awfully like a common horror movie about a dead girl."

She slammed her hand down on the table, "Ah'm not crazy! Ah wasn't imaginin' things either!"

He held up his hands in surrender, "I didn't say-"

"Ya said enough!" She snapped.

He nodded, "Alright, fair enough. She talked to you?"

She nodded, "Said that Ah was something called… an in between. Whateva that is."

"Anything else?"

"Yeah," Jade said, almost whispering. "She said that she was… Nevamind."

"What did she tell you?" Corelli asked.

Fine!" Jade snapped, "She said she was me, alright!"

"She was… you?" Corelli asked, looking taken back.

"Ah know, it's stupid, but that's what she said!" Jade screamed.

"Alright." Corelli said, scribbling again. "Anything else?"

"No." Jade mumbled, then looked up at Corelli, "Can Ah go now?"

Corelli shook his head, "Just let us process this, and General Fury will decide if it's safe to let you out."

Jade looked at him, as if trying to see through his eyes, "Ah'm giving you two days, if Ah'm not home by then, or at least on mah way, whateva this mutation can do, Ah'll unleash it on ya'll, with no mercy."

Corelli shrugged, walking to the door, "That's your decision."

Fury glared at him as he stepped out, "Well?"

Corelli shrugged, "Clyde just needs to see Tyson, and I think he'll be fine."

Fury nodded, "I think that can be arranged very soon. And the girl?"

Corelli shook his head, "She's insane!"

Black Widow appeared out of no where. "No she's not."

They both stared at her, until Fury cleared his throat, "Agent Romanoff?"

"She's not insane." Natasha repeated, "She's lying."

Corelli raised an eyebrow, "I know you're some big crime fighter, but I've been trained for years to tell if someone's lying or not, and she was telling the truth."

Natasha smirked, "She's from Cajun country Corelli, down there they look someone in the eye and lie without getting caught as a living."

She walked past Corelli, "Just give me ten minutes."

Corelli glared at her and she shut the door behind her, "She can't take my job!" He turned to Nick, "Can she?"

Nick looked at him evenly, "She's a woman Agent Corelli, she knows things about teenage girls we'd rather not be haunted by. My advice, don't poke the spider."


	7. Time For The Show

I gripped the duffel bag tighter as I walked past a few shady men on the edge of the street, people tend to wonder what's in the bag. Which would be my recent steal.

Speaking of my recent steal, I had to get it to a buddy of mine, we have a stable partnership. I steal things, he sells them. In exchange for his services, he get's sixty percent of the pay. You might think it's not fair, since I'm the one who actually steals the stuff, and all he does is sell them to the highest bidder, but I don't care. Considering that in most partnership like this, they usually take more than that, and the fact I don't want a lot of money, I'm fine with it.

I don't want to get rich from all this money, I just want enough to live off of. My partner knows that.

We always met up every two weeks, on the right side of the Seven Eleven, which was where I was walking towards right now. To bad for me these shady guys are in the middle of the sidewalk, blocking me from taking the eight steps to get to the Seven Eleven parking lot.

One of the men spoke up, "Hey little girl." He grabbed the bag, yanking me towards him, uncomfortably close, "What's a young thing like you doing on a street like this?"

My hand flew to my thigh, yanking the knife out, "Ending you."

The knife was in his throat before he could move. I pulled it out slowly, blood spurting out of the wound. His friends screamed, running off.

I pushed the knife back into the sheath, ignoring the blood now dripping down my thigh.

There was a snort from the shadows, and a figure stepped out, looking at me with cold rebellion. "Thought you never used that without a reason, keeping your honor and all that. Wasn't that the point of keeping it instead of giving it to me to sell?"

I turned towards him, an older teenager, nineteen to be precise. First thing you noticed about him was all the metal on his face. Snake bite gauged lip piercings, two studded eyebrow rings on his left eyebrow, six studs on his right ear going from his lobe to top of his ear, two on his left ear lobe, and a stud nose ring in his left nostril. Way to much, but I didn't judge. There's a reason behind all the piercings, and it wasn't to look cool.

His hair was dyed black on the sides and back, with streaks of dark blue, blood red, and neon green on the top and bangs. He wore black and white Van's, baggy dark green pants, and a black skin tight muscle tee shirt, showing off heavily tattooed arms, so many that you would never be able to see actual skin around them. I had tried to count all of them when I first met him, but I just got a head ache instead. You could never really tell where one ended or another began to be honest.

I could read a few band names, some I knew of, others just sounded weird. The head of a bull dog was right next to a kris knife with blood dripping from it. Barbed wire around each wrist, skulls, dragons, bats, spiders, and a few very small tribal tattoos that used to be names of girls, A's inside a circle, different flowers engulfed in flames, and random words. My favorite one of them though, was a skull on his upper left shoulder, it had a battle axe sticking out of the top of the skull, with words beneath it, reading: kill all betrayers. I'm not even sure of the skull and words belonged to the same tattoo, but whenever I think of it, I always count them as the same one.

When cops looked at him, they always put a hand on their holster. When store owners saw him, they locked their safes. When people walking down the street saw him, they got out of his way. When kids saw him, they ran behind their moms. Everything about his presence demanded fear, and showed danger. That's where the real reasoning came behind the appearance. When anyone saw him, they got scared. Meaning, no one tried to mug him, no one gave him any trouble.

The girls in this ghetto loved him and the men where intimidated by him. He had the whole street under his thumb.

He was unlike any guy I've ever seen in the streets, which is partly why I had asked if I could work for him. Other reason, he saved my life once.

I rolled my eyes, "He was either going to kill me, or steal my stuff, maybe worse. That was enough reason for me."

He snorted again, "Whatever. Offer still stands for that knife by the way. It'll get a good price."

I shook my head again, "It's not for sale."

"Fine." He said, stepping next to me, and grabbed my elbow, "Let's go, owner's getting a bit shaky."

"Well, he's got a dead guy in his parking lot."

He laughed, "Good point, run 'for the cops get here?"

I nodded, and we took off running, I matched him step for step, a lot different for when he had to either go slow so I could keep up, or just ditch me to save his own hide.

Eventually, we stopped in a surprisingly unoccupied alley, and he jumped up onto a dumpster lid, taking out a pack of cigarettes, lighting one up and taking a long drag, and turning his head to the side to blow it out. Most people just blew it right into my face. Another reason that Tripp here is the only person in all of New York that I care about.

Don't start thinking that there's some kind of crush here, there isn't. I don't like him that way. He saved my life, and he does little things that no one else does, like turning the other way to blow his smoke.

He turns back to me, smirking. "I remember when a run like that used to leave you passed out."

I rolled my eyes, "It's been three years Tripp, you'd think I would have gotten some well deserved credit by now."

He shook his head, chuckling, "Ya know what I thought when I first saw you, curled up into a little ball, crying for daddy, and clutching that knife of yours like it was your life line?"

"Someone take her back to the asylum?" I asked sarcastically.

"Thought you'd be dead in two days whether I saved your life or not." He corrected. "And here you are, matching my pace step for step. Gotta tell you kid, out of all my little workers, you're the one who catches on the quickest."

I nodded, "I got something good for you this week Tripp."

He frowned, "Hey! I wasn't done narrating my thoughts!"

"Do you want the steal or not?" I asked.

He chuckled, "What ya got for me girl?"

I took off the duffel bag, opened it, and pulled out Hawkeye's bow and quiver of arrows. He whistled, low and long, taking the bow in his hands to inspect it, "Where'd ya get these toys kid?"

"You'll never believe me."

"Beg to differ." He pressed.

"I knocked Hawkeye of the Avengers unconscious and stole them from him."

He was silent for a few seconds, "No seriously, where'd you get em?"

"Told ya you wouldn't believe me." I growled.

His eyes widened, "Wait, you really stole these off of Hawkeye?"

"Yep."

He gave me a look, "Well who do ya expect me to sell em to, back to Hawkeye!"

I shrugged, "I figured they were so rare-"

"No one uses bows and arrows anymore kid." He said, handing the bow back and taking a gun out of his back pocket, "They use these. 45 Glock, easy to handle, accurate, and easier to hide than that huge thing in your hands."

"Louder too." I noted.

"If you want silent, you use a knife." He said. "But you get my point, these are useless, no one's gonna buy them."

I glared at him, "Well what am I supposed to do with them?"

"They're a cool trophy." He offered.

My shoulders sagged. No selling them meant no money, which means no food unless I can scrape about eighty bucks together for food these next few weeks.

"Cheer up kid." He ordered, "Don't think about the money, those things are proof you took down Hawkeye, that's more than any one of my trainees has ever done."

Tripp was a street teacher. It's actually pretty common, a more experienced member of a gang taking a rookie under his wing, showing them the ropes, wishing them good luck, and then leaving them to their own devices. That's what Tripp does, he's just not in a gang and neither am I. He shows you how to make a few dollars a day, leaves you for a few weeks, and if you're still alive when he checks up on you, he'll show you more.

Then there's the deal, you always work for him. He's like your boss, but pretty much lets you do what you want. There's no demand on how much dough we bring into him, he just lets us know that no matter how small we bring in, sixty percent is his, so really, by not working hard, we're just making ourselves hungry.

You might think Tripp is a back guy by making kids younger than him do the dirty work, but we're better off this way. If he hadn't offered me a job, I would have been dead three years ago. No one would have given me a funeral. Who would have cared about me? Everyone who would have is gone.

I guess I knew enough about the street to make it one my own without giving him sixty percent, just take off. But I wouldn't do that to him. He wouldn't be able to pay his rent without the cut he gets from me. I can stomach living in a condemned warehouse, he'd rather not go there. And like I said before, I don't care about the money.

I'm not some big shot, bad to the bone thief, I'm just surviving.

He took a wad of cash out of his pocket, "Remember that HD TV and stereo system you got for me last month?"

"Ones I robbed from that Best Buy store. I remember." I always remember a job.

"I finally got them sold to some guy eight towns over. I'll be getting snapped at for selling out of my territory, but it was worth it." He handed me over a couple folded bills, "Four hundred forty."

A grin broke on my face, this would keep me fed good for weeks! I could afford vacation time. Not that I would take time off.

I looked down at the bow and arrows. Maybe Tripp was right, they would make a good trophy. Tripp spoke up, "I got a new tattoo."

"Another one?"

"Funny." He said, rolling his eyes.

"Where did you even find room?" I asked, skeptical.

He smirked. "What can I say, when you're a thief, you find room to conceal stuff."

I nodded to his arms, "Or broadcast it."

He rolled his eyes again, a favorite gesture of his, and pulled his shirt up, pointing to a raven on his left hip, wings spread outward and blood on it's talons. It's black feathers had hues of blue around them, giving it an even fiercer look. "Cool."

"We need to see about getting you a tattoo Brantley." He said, walking out of the alley.

I followed him out, not cause I was wanted the tattoo, but because I had nothing else to do, and I enjoyed his company.

"Ya know what? I'm good actually." I said.

"Seriously Brantley." He protested, "The reason you keep getting attacked all the time is because of how you look. Small and vulnerable. I'm telling you, a few tattoos, some facial piercings, people will start to back off."

"Next you'll be saying I should dye my hair like yours." I said, rolling my eyes.

"That would help." He confessed, "But not like mine. This hair is my trademark."

I snorted, but it was true. No one had hair like his.

"I don't need a tattoo Tripp."

He gave me a look, "Yeah, you need about ten. To start with at least."

"You've got to be kidding me."

"I'm thinking industrial piercings on the ears, and snake bites on the lower lip." He said, kind of like an artist would talk about a painting.

"… Tripp, no… just… no."

"Maybe red and purple spiked hair."

"You're not putting anything in my hair!" I hissed.

"Or maybe just solid black. Over done and over used, but still scary in it's own reason." He debated with himself.

"My hair is brown and it'll stay brown." I snapped, trying to glare at him through my bangs that were to long to even let him see my glare.

"Or maybe just something crazy, like pink and orange."

"I'm outta here." I said, promptly turning away.

"Fine!" He called after me, "But I want you to pick out a tattoo, seriously, a few tattoos and no one's gonna pick a fight with you anymore!"

I ignored him, people can't possibly be that stupid.

I got into the warehouse I had staying at. I had taken it upon myself to switch my place of residence after the Hawkeye incident. I hid the money behind a piece of dry wall. Maybe I could get those new shoes now.

I sat down on the musty mattress in the corner, peeling the duck tape off of my shoes so I could slip them off. I took off my bloodstained pants. It got really hot around here in the summer, so I would sleep in my boxers and shirt. I looked at my stained pants. They weren't just stained, they were torn, ripped, faded, and worn. I looked down at my shirt, equally so. Blood stained it around the collar and hem. Killing was a messy business.

I smirked, may be Tripp was right about the image concept. I was getting pretty tired of being harassed at every street corner. I was not going to dye my hair though. Out of the question. But a few tattoos, maybe some different clothing, who knows? Might make a world of difference.

I flopped down onto the mattress, stuffing my favorite knife under my pillow. If anyone came in, they were dead. I was a very light sleeper, Tripp had knocked that habit into me first month.

I rolled over, curling into a loose ball. Tripp was a great teacher, but he wasn't the one who taught me to throw my knives. That story was a personal one, one I hardly ever touched. However, tonight I was feeling a bit safe, so as I slept, I allowed my mind to wander to a dusty corner of my memory. Far away from prying eyes.

_I heard the ringmaster, my father, shouting to the crowd, and bright colors flashing around the tent. Clowns stomped around in big shoes acrobats on the high wire defied gravity in sparkling uniform, an older cousin of mine swallowed fire, and my mother sat at the entrance of the circus, collecting tickets._

_My favorite older cousin Ashley, face painted like a tiger's smiled down at me, holding bowling pins in her hands painted bright colors. "Just keep smiling, it's what sells the crowd."_

_I looked down, seeing sharpened silver and gold throwing knives in my hand. Time for the show._


	8. Interested?

Black Widow's eyes pierced through Jade's, making her squirm slightly in her seat. No one other than the people on this helicarrier would have picked up on it. Jade bit the inside of his cheek with her canines, and a deadly smirk flashed across Widow's face, making her bite to hard out of nervousness, and blood leaked into her mouth.

She swallowed it, wondering if it would give her a stomach ache later.

Black widow stalked over to Jade's side of the table, leaning backwards against it, and crossing her arms, looking down at Jade.

"Think you're a big shot just cause you can sneak a lie past the therapist?" Natasha scoffed.

Jade paused, deciding it was better not to answer. However, a Tennessee mouth doesn't stay shut for long, "Ah have no idea what ya talkin' 'bout."

"Sure you don't." Widow said, a look on her face that she would often give Clint, one that said _'I am in charge here and you're doing what I say'_. Jade did not like the look at all. "The whole story about the little ghost girl, silvery blond hair, skin white as death, voice as ice, it was good I'll give you that."

Jade raised an eyebrow, understanding this woman had stumbled on her lie. "What gave it away."

"Two things." Widow said, deciding to school her a bit, "When you lie, your left eye is wider than your right, you tilt your head to the left a few millimeters, and then you grin your back teeth together."

Jade froze, finding that fact that she knew her poker face down to the teeth grinding very creepy, "And?"

"You're over dramatic with your lies." Natasha sneered, "I mean, her voice was ice? It sounded like a horror movie being read aloud on tape."

Jade blushed, crossing her arms and glaring down at her lap, "Shut up."

Natasha shakes her head, "I mean, if you weren't gonna tell him the truth, then you should have kept your mouth shut. Now, you have to deal with me."

Jade licked her cut inner cheek carefully, tasting more blood flow over her tongue. She really should have just told the therapist the truth instead of having this crazy lady drill her.

"How'd ya read mah poker face so fast?" She mumbled, embarrassed at this woman who suddenly barged in claiming to know everything about her and her lies.

"I used to lie like that at your age." She replied, a bit to knowingly, "Until I figured out it was better to not change your expression when lying."

Jade glared at her, "Shut up and get outta here. Just leave me alone."

Widow shook her head, "I wanna know what your mutation is, and I wanna know now."

Jade shot up out of her chair, "Fine!"

She grabbed Widow's shirt collar, yanking her down to glare right into her eyes. Before Natasha can beat the life out of her to doing that, she hears a ghost of a whisper, saying, _secret_. Then, everything fades out.

Next thing she knows, she's walking through red snow, stomping through it actually. She looked around wildly, feeling cold red frost hit her in the face. She reached out, snagging a snowflake in her hand, and looking at it.

With shock, she sees that it's not red, just soaked in red. She reached out, tapping her tongue to it lightly. Blood.

She dropped the snowflake, "Where the devil did that kid send me?"

"Her own personal Hell." Said the icy whisper.

Natasha whirled around, seeing a seven year old girl, standing barefoot in the snow, in a white nightgown. Blood red eyes flashed, and Natasha grabbed her gun, not pulling it out, just getting ready to do so. This was the girl Jade had spoke of. "So she wasn't lying."

"Of course I was." The girl said, and Widow comes to the stunning realization that this is not a seven year old girl, but Jade. "I'm not some kind of in between, I'm just a mutant."

In a flash the snow is gone, and Widow is sitting in a chair, tied and gagged, the girl standing in front of her, holding a bloodstained steak knife, singing a creepy song you would hear in a horror movie. "Got a secret. Can you keep it? Swear this one you'll save. Better lock it, in your pocket, taking this one to the grave. If I show you then I know you won't tell what I said. Cause two can keep a secret if one of them is dead."

Such truth. Widow knows this, because she's had to kill so many people because of a secret.

Natasha struggled against her ropes binding her to the chair, to find they only got tighter. She looked down, the ropes becoming snakes, winding around her torso. She looked back up at the creepy girl, to see her smiling in a psychotic way, singing her questions "Why do you smile like you've been told a secret?"

Natasha's gag disappeared, and she found herself inclined to answer to this crazy version of white haired Jade, "I'm not!"

Crazy Jade shook her head, giggling and singing, "Now you're telling lies cause you're the one to keep it. But no one keeps a secret, no one keeps a secret!" The way she's looking at her, she doesn't mean it as a simple fact that no secret is left untold, but that Natasha will tell her all her secrets, before Jade sees fit to end her.

"Why do we do our darkest deeds do we tell?" Crazy Jade sang, "They burn in our brains, become a living Hell. Cause everybody tells, everybody tells."

Natasha's life started playing before her eyes, like a movie screen. It wasn't until it started speeding up to an impossible to watch pace that Natasha realized, Jade could see it to. Jade was reading her mind, and taking her secrets.

"Jade, stop it!" Natasha commanded.

The pale ghost of Jade shook her head, "I finish what I start."

It flashes by faster, and faster, every dirty secret and horrible occurrence that Natasha has ever dealt with, becoming an open book for Jade to read as she saw fit.

Natasha rears back, bringing her legs up to kick Crazy Jade in the face, "I said stop!"

The girl falls to the ground, shocked out of her trance.

And just like that, Natasha is back in the interrogation room, and Jade is stumbling back from her clutching her head in pain. Natasha grabbed her own head, trying to figure out if what just happened was real.

She looked up at Jade, who's staring at her in horror. "Ah… Ah'm so sorry." She whispered, "Ah didn't know."

Natasha pulled her fist back, socking Jade across the face, hard. Jade slipped, falling onto her back. "That's for reading my mind." Natasha waits until Jade get's back up, before asking, "How much did you see?"

"… Ah saw Clint offer ya the job." She admitted, "But… that's where it ended."

Natasha couldn't be more shocked, this girl now knew about the better part of her life, every dirty secret, every kill, every cover up. At first, she think she'll have to kill this girl, for knowing to much. But then she remembers an old saying, keep your friends close, and enemies closer.

"That's some talent you have," Natasha remarked.

Jade shook her head, "It's a curse."

"If you use it that way." Natasha explained.

Jade rolled her eyes, as if she's heard this all before, from different people, but the same old song. "And how would Ah use it?"

Natasha let a smirk fall on her face, as she took in everything about the girl, her body type, her attitude, her posture, and over all, everything she could be physically capable of doing at the current point, and what she could be capable of doing with proper training and time. "Would you be, by any chance, interested in being my apprentice?"

Jade froze, talking in what she just said, "Why?"

"Why what?" Natasha asked innocently.

Jade glared at her again, "Why on Earth would ya pick me that? Out of all the people out there?"

Natasha shrugged, "You've got potential, I want to show you how to use it."

"And the fact Ah know nearly everything about ya has nothin' to do with it?" Jade asked suspiciously.

Natasha shrugged, "Even if you didn't, I like what I see. Everyone these days seems to be getting themselves a little side kick, I think it's my turn."

She can almost hear Fury glaring at her from the other side of the one way mirror, but she doesn't care. She was allowed to pick her successor, and she had made her pick.

Jade raised an eyebrow, "And why would Ah?"

"Good pay, hard training, promising employment, and my personal guarantee that I can make you into one of the fiercest fighters ever to walk Earth." Natasha offered. "Interested yet?"

Jade paused, "Would Ah be able to go home?"

"For visits." Natasha promised, "But you'll live here most of the time, S.H.I.E.L.D. needs you to be ready for any mission they have, not all the way off in Louisiana riding horses when there's an alien invasion."

Jade paused, and Natasha smirked, realizing her blink, she was bordering on the edge of saying yes. "This job is hard, but you can do it. It's the greatest job you can ever have. You'll be protecting America first, and the world second on a daily basis. You'll be a hero."

"Ah'd be on the Avengers?"

"If the Avengers are still around when I retire, or die, then yes, you will." Natasha promised.

Jade squared her shoulders, "Ah'm _very _interested."

Natasha nodded, shaking her hand, "Welcome to S.H.I.E.L.D."

She left Jade sitting there, walking out to face the wrath of Fury. He could yell, but nothing would change, Jade was under her protection now, not S.H.I.E.L.D.'s. Jade was untouchable, whether Fury and the Council liked it or not.

**WITH TYSON AND CLYDE:**

Tyson had expected the kid to be happy to see him, but not this happy. As soon as Tyson had walked through the door, Clyde had launched himself at Tyson, wrapping his arms around him and not letting go.

Tyson stared down at the puff ball of blonde hair awkwardly, "Uh… Clyde?"

Clyde finally let go, stepping back, "I thought they killed you!"

Tyson smirked down at him, "Gonna take more than a few geeks and a pirate wannabe to do me in Clyde."

Clyde laughed a little, before grabbing Tyson's hand, inspecting it carefully, noting small burns and scrapes, "Clyde, don't-"

Before Tyson can do anything, the burns and scratches are gone, and even though Clyde smiles, there's pain in his eyes. "No worries Tyson."

Tyson shook his head, "You've got to stop doing that. I made a mistake, I got hurt, you aren't supposed to take away the penalty."

Clyde shrugged, "Taking it away is what I was meant to do Tyson. It's why I have this mutation, it's why I keep helping you."

Tyson narrowed his eyes, "No, you keep helping me because you fell useless if you don't."

Clyde looked at the ground, guilty. "Well, you were hurt-"

"And now you're hurt." Tyson debated, "It wasn't your mistake to pay for."

Clyde shuffled his feet nervously, "Sorry."

Tyson shook his head, "Whatever."

Clyde looked up at Tyson with big, sad eyes, "How long are we gonna be here?"

Tyson shot the guard in the room a look, before feeling another prick from the bracelet. "A long time apparently."


	9. Not Your Mistake To Pay For

The council members glared at Fury, but it was a woman who actually voiced her contradictions, "And you simply… let her actions slide?"

Fury gave her a look that showed he wasn't interested in anything she had to say or do. "Black Widow's actions are completely within the standards of S.H.I.E.L.D., and logical, now the girl wont protest to being here, so long as she gets to visit her family back in Louisiana."

A man spoke up next, "And if she fails to be of use?"

"I can guarantee with Black Widow's training, that's no where near a possibility." Fury said, getting tired of this. "I've already done a back ground check on the girl, she comes from a military family. She's got a veteran father and her brother is currently a marine. Looking at her school work and public history, she was looking to get into the air force when she finished high school."

The council was silent for a moment, before the woman spoke up again, "What will become of the other children, the two boys?"

"Hopefully Clyde won't be so damaged he can't be returned to his family."

A different man spoke up, "We've taken the liberty of tracking down Clyde's parents, or to be more accurate, their remains."

Fury bit his tongue lightly. Poor kid. "I assume I'll be put up to date about the boy's parents and background?"

"We've already emailed you the information." The man assured.

The same woman spoke up again, did she have nothing better to do than talk? "Clyde _will _be kept at your facility Fury, someone with his abilities is to rare to pass up. Do you understand? No group home, no foster family. As soon as he turns eighteen he'll be recruited. Until then, have him trained."

Fury ground his teeth together, "He's a child, and you're ruining any chance he'll ever have outside these walls."

The woman frowned, "You will follow orders Fury."

Fury nodded, "Fine. And as for Tyson?"

"Same thing." The woman ordered.

Fury paused, "I take it I'm in charge of training them in what ways I see fit?"

"Just see to it they obtain skills valuable to S.H.I.E.L.D. and there will be no quarrel." She replied, and the screens went blank.

Agent Hill spoke up, "General Fury, what exactly do you have in mind?"

Fury turned around, walking to the door quickly. "Something that probably won't work, I'm sure."

Agent Hill sighed, following him, "Naturally."

**LATER, IN DR. BANNER'S LAB:**

Fury couldn't say he expected Bruce would be enthusiastic, for some reason, he felt he should have expected Bruce to be curious. It's common for Scientist to be curious at the least.

"And you consider me to be able to help the boy the most because…?" Bruce asked.

"Considering his unstableness, his powers, we'll need a scientific approach. Stark's already got a tag along. Are you up for it?" Fury questioned.

Bruce paused, "I've never done anything like this before."

"That was not the question."

The was a lot of hesitation, Fury could see the for sure, but there was also eagerness. That's what Fury should have expected, the boy's powers intrigued Bruce. It was natural for a genius to look at someone like Tyson, and wonder exactly how his gifts worked. What caused the flame? What caused it to go away?

"Yes, I can do it." Bruce agreed.

And that's how it started, the usual process of scientific thought.

That's why Tyson was inside a titanium box, panting, trying to remain calm.

"Are you sure about this?" He yelled out to Bruce, looking at the walls nervously, where they closing in on him?

"Just remain calm, and try to produce the flame." Bruce commanded.

The bracelet was constantly pricking him, but he still felt on edge, not calm. He looked down at his hands, trying to feel heat, but there was nothing.

"Keep trying!" Bruce urged.

Tyson took a deep breath, pushing away his panic at this small, confined space that was there for everyone's else's safety. If he produced to much flame, he might hurt someone. That's why he was in a titanium box.

He pushed harder with his mind, desperately trying to get his hands to get hotter. He heard Bruce gasp from outside the box, and he immediately stopped what he was doing, "What?"

"This is amazing!" Bruce said excitedly, sounding like a kid at Christmas. "Keep it up, just, do it again!"

Tyson glanced back down at his hands, pushing heat into them again, watching with amazement as flames started to form, but he wasn't angry. Bruce had been right, the powers weren't dependent on his emotions.

Bruce's voice sounded again, "Alright, power down."

"I can do more!" Tyson protested, stubbornly making the flames bigger.

"I know, but Tyson, I have all I need, just power down, we'll push your limits later." Bruce promised.

Tyson, unhappily, powered down, watching as the flames diminished. The titanium box opened, and Tyson sprinted out, looking at Bruce, who was bent over his desk, scribbling furiously on a piece of paper.

Tyson walked over, "Did you see that! I flamed up, without getting angry!"

Bruce looked up, grinning like a child, "Yeah, I did! The bracelet did it's job, and you still managed to tap into whatever energy source this heat is coming from."

Tyson nodded, looking down at the papers, "So, what's this?"

Bruce just shook his head, "I'll explain it later, once I have a 3D set up that can explain it better."

Tyson nodded, "So, what now?"

Bruce chuckled, "You're done for the day really, and no fire outside of the box, okay? Fury does have rules."

"How paranoid is this guy?" Tyson asked, not seeing what the big deal was now that he was in control.

"I believe there are some things we are not meant to know." Bruce said, trying not to break out into a grin.

Tyson nodded, leaving, saying something about catching up with Clyde. Bruce couldn't help but wonder where Tyson's parents where. He never expressed an interest in going back to them. A brief thought crossed his mind, Tyson's parents having been like his, but he shoved it aside. Either way, Tyson was here now, and he seemed to be fine with it.

Bruce continued to scribble on his papers, cataloging what the cameras had shown his trained eye.

**WITH CAPTAIN AMERICA:**

I walked up to the top level of the helicarrier, the landing strip, just going up there to get a little peace and quiet really. I liked stepping out, watching the airplanes come and go. Twelve years had come and gone, leaving me feeling much more comfortable with the new technology.

As soon as I stepped out onto deck, I caught a bright yellow blur in the corner of my eye. I turned to look, seeing the brightest hair I had ever seen, standing on edge, leaning over the side of the helicarrier, stunned.

"Wow." I heard Clyde whisper, amazed at how high up we were. I couldn't help but smile at that, it had been awhile since I had seen a kid, just being a kid.

He leaned farther over the edge, trying to get a better look, and I frowned, walking over quietly. Leaning that far off was a bit risky.

He still leaned over, breath taken with the height. He leaned over, just a bit more, and then gravity started to kick in. Clyde slid forward, and I dashed to the edge, but with horror, saw him slip over the side. I shot my hand down after him, grabbing the first thing I could feel, his ankle.

He screamed, a very high pitched noise, kind of sounding like a girl. I hoisted him up back over the edge, onto the helicarrier slowly. A few S.H.I.E.L.D. agents had turned to look, registered what had happened, and went on as if nothing had happened.

He stood up, shaking a bit, looking up at me with hesitation. "You okay kid?"

He nodded slowly, then stared at my forearm. Puzzled, I looked at it too, seeing a small scratch, must have nicked my arm on a loose screw or something.

He reached out, grabbing it tightly, "Hey, what are you-"

He pulled his hand away, revealing clear skin, no more scratch, no blood, not even a scar that showed something had been there.

My eyes widened, and I hesitantly touched it, as if to see if there really was nothing there after all. I looked back up at him, and he smiled up at me, "It was my stupid mistake to pay for, not your's."

I raised an eyebrow, "What?"

"I was the one who was being stupid, you shouldn't have gotten hurt because of it." Clyde explained, with a sense of wisdom behind it that took Steve off guard.

"How old are you?" He asked, wondering why a kid his age would care about almost a total stranger having a small scratch.

"Thirteen." The boy said, and Steve was really shocked. The kid was short for his age, Steve would have guessed he was ten or maybe eleven at best. But thirteen? Steve wasn't one who could judge though, he had been really small for his age too.

Steve nodded, "Thanks for the patch job."

Clyde smiled again, "Thanks for grabbing my ankle, I can't swim."

At that, Steve just had to laugh, "Trust me, swimming would have been the least of your concerns falling from this high."

Fury's voice suddenly sounded over his ear piece, "Captain, meet me in the debriefing room."

Steve turned to Clyde, "Sorry kid, duty calls."

Clyde walked next to Captain America as he made his way back to the stairs, "Do you like being a hero?"

Steve paused, "Well, actually, I don't think I am a hero."

"Why?" Clyde asked, astonished Steve would say that. Steve remembered all the little kids he used to perform for, all looking up at him like he was a hero.

"It's just… uh… cause I'm not in uniform." Steve answered. Clyde gave him a look that said he didn't buy it, but left Captain alone, walking off, probably to go visit Tyson. Great, the kids only friend was a seventeen year old. The sooner they got him back down there, the better. Clyde was a good kid, he deserved a nice home, with a mom who made cookies, and a school with lots of kids his age.


	10. The Grouping

I took a deep breath, tightening my grip on the bow slightly, pulling the cord back. _You're alone. There's no one else in the whole wide world but you. You, you're bow, and that target._

Grandpa's voice hadn't aged a day, still raspy, yet gentle, and with a kind of feel behind it that made you see that inside, he was still a young man. Of course, back then I hadn't been holding a bow, I had been holding a knife. However, there was nothing wrong with swapping one word for another in a memory to better suit circumstances.

I released the cord, and the arrow whizzed through the air, connecting with the second story window of the mall, and shattering it. I released another arrow, a grappling hook arrow. I through the bow over it, shooting across the gap, known as the street, and falling through the window.

I cursed as glass dug into my arms and shoulders, picking myself up carefully. I panted slightly, gently pulling a rather large piece of glass out of my arm, watching the now open wound bleed freely.

I trudged out of the room I was in, security room. It almost made me laugh, there were no night guards! Well, it was only a mall. I picked up my bow, making my way out of the upper levels, down the escalator, and over to the mall's decorative fountain. I ripped a large strip of cloth off of the bottom of my red T-shirt, soaking it in the water, and wrapping it around the still bleeding wound.

Trip was going to have my hide for this, he's taught my better than to do something that stupid.

Satisfied with the wrapped wound, I got up again, shouldering the bow, and walking to the food court. No one was around, and it was easy to break into the Taco Bell there and make my own Doritos Taco. It was a light dinner, which I always had. If you ate to much, you couldn't move very fast. So I always ate to satisfy hunger, and no more.

I looked around the empty food court, wondering what it felt like to come here with friends, just hang out for the day. It seemed unnecessary to me, but I knew it must be fun. Go into your favorite store, and make fun of people who went into your store's polar opposite.

I missed out on that, and sometimes, like now, I wonder how much I actually have missed out on. Sometimes, I think about what would have happened had I stuck with the system. Maybe a nice house, parents, a dog even. Friends if I was lucky, maybe two or three. One was enough though.

A teacher I would hate, and a teacher I thought was pretty cool. Hmm… I'd probably hate my history teacher, since I had never been good with dates. I'd probably love my English teacher, sicne I had always loves reading and writing. I could see the cliché scene before me. The history teacher would claim I had no brain whatsoever, while the English teacher would say I was a talented student with a future ahead of her. Me and my friends would probably hang out at a nearby skating rink, staring and giggling at the cute emo boys like there was something wrong with us.

Hmm, maybe I haven't missed out on that much really…

After dinner had been taken care of, I slipped into the store Tripp had recommended, Hot Topic. I didn't stay in there long, just grabbed a T-shirt advertising the band Limp Bizkit, a pair of baggy black pants with red anarchist signs on the back pockets and the knees.

I didn't waste money on clothes, I just snuck into places like this and snatched them. Next item on the shopping list, shoes. I grabbed a pair or red converse off the shelves, trying to pull them on, but they were to small.

I shoved them back, taking down a pair of high top black converse, with white writing on the side that said, This Is Not A Shoe. I thought it was funny. Just one thing left, gloves.

It took awhile, but I found a pair, leather, fingerless, and with metal spiked on top of the knuckles. I'd rather them without the spikes, but thieves aren't choosers. Five fingered discount it always a help though. I yanked them on, they fit good.

I left Hot Topic, and walked over to a nice looking jewelry store. I took out a lock picking kit, something Tripp had given me a long time ago, and picked the lock on one of the smaller cases. It fell open easily, I had gotten good with it.

I reached into the case, pulling out a few rings, and a necklace. This store had plenty of expensive jewelry, they shouldn't care so much about just a few, and Tripp would get a good price for them.

Alright, I was done here, time to hit the road. Same time next week? I walked back up to the security room, and over to the window.

Getting out of the mall was much harder, since the roof I had slid in from was high up than the window, there would be no sliding across with ease. I made sure the bow and quiver were in place tightly, and timidly crawled out the window, curling my toes inside my shoes, and took a slow step onto the cord between the two buildings.

It had been a long time since I had done this. I swallowed, taking my other foot off the safety of the window ledge, placing it in front of my other foot. _Don't look down. For the sake of all that is good and holy, don't look down!_

I took a deep breath, pushing away my fear, and taking another step on the cord. I wasn't walking on a grappling cord above a New York street. I was walking across the high wire, the audience in dead silence, in awe of the height a young girl was facing. The spot light was on me, the band playing slow music that fit the scene.

I was halfway across the tight rope, my father, the ringmaster, watching with pride, and nervousness as his eight year old daughter did such a feat.

There was just one thing different about this than the high wire, one thing I hadn't counted on. Wind.

A sudden gust made me stagger, wobble, and slip. I grabbed the cord in my hands tightly, very happy Tripp had talked me into the gloves. I looked down at the traffic as I dangled, I was at least four stories up now, and I couldn't help what I did next.

I screamed, just a little. I tightened my grip, looking up a the cord. I left go with one hand, swinging it in front of the other, like on the monkey bars. I swung my legs up, hooking them over the rope, and inching along like an inch worm, slowly, but surely. My hands started to sweat, but thanks to the gloves, it wasn't an issue.

_Just keep going, inch by inch, like an inchworm_. I reminded myself. The wind kept blowing, and I pressed myself against the cord, holding on for dear life. I tucked my hair down, the wind whipping my hair around wildly.

As soon as the wind started to die down, I kept going, my hands and legs starting to ache from the work.

I kept going, shrugging off the cold bite of the night air, adrenalin rushing through my veins, making my ears throb. I finally felt my back hit the edge of the building I had swung down from. I reached up, grabbing the edge with one hand, then letting go of the cord with my other hand, grabbing the edge with both hands, hoisting myself up quickly. I flopped down onto the roof, panting, waiting for the rush to fade.

I hugged my sides, letting the adrenalin die down, before standing up, and walking over to the edge of the roof, taking out my knife. I severed the cord, it had become a habit since I had gotten the bow last week.

I walked across the roof carefully, using the fire escapes to get down. That wasn't the first time I had almost died, and it won't be the last. I don't care. I've been doing death defying stunts since I was six, and I've been defying death personally since I was eleven.

Tripp would get a kick out of this, dude had a twisted sense of humor.

**WITH CAPTAIN AMERICA AND NICK FURY:**

Steve stared at Fury in shock, "You mean, they aren't even going to try and let him have a home?"

"I'm afraid not." Fury said, "I have my orders, and I cant act against them. However, I can make it as… minimal damaging as possible."

Steve nodded slowly, "How? Kid doesn't need this! He needs… he needs a Mom."

Fury shook his head, "Not a mother, a role model."

Steve raised an eyebrow at Fury, who was surprisingly grinning. "I don't like that look on your face."

"Rogers, as you've noticed, Stark and Thor have brought their own wards into S.H.I.E.L.D., but what you don't know yet, is that Widow had taken the girl, Jade, under her wing as a ward."

Steve frowned, puzzled, Natasha had never seemed like the motherly type, so this act of charity surprised him. Fury continued, "Banner has also stepped up to take charge of Tyson."

Steve's eyes nearly popped out of his skull, "Bruce… is adopting Tyson?'

"No, nor is Natasha adopting Jade. It's simply… a partner ship. Bruce and Natasha will teach them, and when they're eighteen, they'll be recruited into S.H.I.E.L.D. as highly trained agents." Fury explained, "leaving Clyde, without a current mentor."

Steve apparently didn't get the drift. "And he needs one. Leaving Barton, and you as options."

If Steve understood, he didn't let it show. "I've chosen you."

Steve let it show then. His eyes widened once more, and he sat straight up, "Sir?"

Fury stared at Steve, watching the different emotions flash across his face, "I want you to be in charge of the boy's training, a mentor, of sorts. When you either die or retire, Clyde will pick up your position. All these kids we're no in charge of, including Tama and Jackson, I've decided they'll form a team."

Steve leaned back in his chair, looking like he'd rather run away than listen further. "In time, I believe they may grow stronger than the original Avengers." Fury sighed, "If they have to have their childhood ruined, I can at least make sure we do it in the nicest way possible. What better way than to tell them they'll eventually become the Earth's Mightiest Heroes?"

Steve blinked, staring at Fury, clueless, before blurting out, "Why can't Clint do it!"

Fury gave him a look, "Do you really expect Hawkeye to be a brilliant role model to a kid as shy and awkward as Clyde?"

Steve paused, letting that soak in, and Fury sighed deeply, "Besides, Clint seems to be a bit delayed until he gets his bow back."

"Why can't he just get a replacement?"

"Because he purposefully makes everything more difficult than it should be, and because of this insists to go after the bow himself, wants to get some kind of satisfaction from knocking a street urchin down a few pegs." Fury said, obviously annoyed with Clint's persistence of such a useless task.

Steve shook his head, "Fury, I just… I can't do something like this. I've never had a younger brother, or a cousin, I have no idea how to act around kids outside of a theater!"

Fury rolled his eye, "Get a grip Rogers, it's not like he has rabies."

Fury stalked out of the room, leaving Steve wondering how he go himself into this mess. How was he supposed to train Clyde? He couldn't do that to a child, couldn't teach such a little kid to do something so grown up.

Steve put his face into his hands. Clyde was only thirteen, and looked pretty… well, Steve didn't want to sound me, but the kid looked pretty helpless. How was he supposed to turn him into the next Captain America?


	11. Mentor's Challenge

**WITH NICK FURY:**

Fury's eyes gazed over the ten people in the room. The Avengers, and their newly gotten wards. "We all know that the council has forced me to keep Tyson, Jade, and Clyde here for the foreseeable future. Once they all reach the age of eighteen, they'll be inducted into S.H.I.E.L.D. and sent on life threatening missions because of the council's fear of what should happen otherwise."

Everyone was silent, until Jackson spoke up, "Ha ha! You losers have to stay with this uptight jerk for the rest of your lives!"

Everyone turned to look at Jackson, and he fidgeted under their gaze for a minute, "Sorry, please continue."

Fury glared at Jackson, then Tony, before resuming. "In order to keep this from happening, I have assigned each of you a mentor based on strengths, weaknesses, personalities, and power basis. We will base even your most simple training on fighting with this team, and because of that, you will have no experience of fighting outside of it."

The kids looked around at each other, they were all thinking the same thing. _Will I be able to live with these people for the rest of my foreseeable career?_

"So, when one of you turns eighteen, which will first be Tyson, the council will have two options, either wait until even the youngest of you, which is Tama, turns eighteen as well to send you out on the missions they're considering preparing you for, or, induct you all once they realize this despite your ages." Nick locked eyes with every adult in the room, "Which is why it is up to all of you to literally prepare these kids for anything and everything they may encounter, in a matter of nine months."

Natasha smirked, "Not a problem."

Tony nodded, "My kid's already ready."

Bruce chimed in, "Statistically speaking, it's possible."

Steve nodded slowly, glancing at Clyde out of the corner of his eye, "I can do it."

Thor's voice boomed, "Tama is the granddaughter of Odin, and the daughter of Thor, there is nothing Midguard has to offer that she cannot handle."

Clint glanced around the room, "Why am _I _here?"

**WITH BRANTLEY AND TRIPP**

"You need a calling card." Tripp said, taking the box of jewelry I had stolen and stuffing it into his trench coat.

"What?" I asked, I had never heard of something like that.

"You know, a calling card." He said, walking out of the alley and beckoning me to follow. "You've got a better image now walking down the street, that's a start. Now, you need a calling card, it's like leaving your signature on a crime scene."

"Sounds stupid." I said nonchalantly.

"Not really, you leave your card, and they give you a name. A crime name, and that's what you start to be known by. Then, you let word slip out that you're actually who's been doing all this, then no one on the streets messes with you." He explained. "Once word gets around about you and how good you are, people will start to make job offers."

"But, I have a job." I pointed out.

"Bigger jobs." Tripp said, "It's like this, say this dirty dealing business tycoon has been having some trouble with a competitor, he needs you to get in, steal blue prints of the next factory they'll put up, or maybe steal a new piece of technology that they just created, one that will leave your employer in the dust. You do said dirty deed, your employer pays you big money, and then I still get sixty percent."

I thought it over, "But, I'm getting by fine now."

"Fine, you don't have to do the jobs, but you still need a calling card." He reached over my head, flicking he top of my bow, "And, are you seriously using these?"

I shrugged, "They help, not as useless as you said they were. Seriously, these things can blow up, shoot off grappling hooks, and knock out gas. Learned that last one the hard way."

Tripp laughed at the picture of me accidentally spraying myself with knock out gas. "Alright, so they work for you okay."

"Yeah!" I said, "Seriously, these are great! I'm glad you didn't sell these."

A sudden scream sounded, in the apartment building we were walking next to. "No!" Screamed a little voice. "Please don't!"

Me and Tripp looked at each other, before both rushing into the building. Tripp stopped outside a door where the screams were coming from, banging on it harshly with his fist, "Open the door!"

No one moved to answer the door, and I bit my lip, hearing the little girl screaming more.

I grabbed an arrow, backing up and loading it, "Get away from the door."

Tripp backed up, and I fired the arrow, blowing the door down. Trip ran into the room, and I followed, seeing a man standing over a crying little girl, she couldn't be more than six. Despite her age, her skin showed cuts and bruises, causing pain beyond what her age could handle.

Tripp growled, pulling out his gun and pointing it at the man standing above her. I nearly threw up right then and there with what I saw him holding. A knife. He had cut that little girl. I dully noted the black trash bags in the room, the chemicals with familiar names, and the ropes that looked like they had been used many times before. The girl never would have left this room alive.

The shot fired quickly, and the man fell to the ground with a thud. I shouldered the arrow, disgust on my features as I glared down at the man. I had stopped serial killers before from killing teenagers, and adults, but I had never seen something like this.

Tripp walked over to the man's body, giving it a sharp kick. "Sicko." He mumbled.

I agreed. I walked over girl, and she looked up at me with big, sad eyes. "Are… Are you an angel?"

I couldn't laugh, it was to sad, a little girl, wanting an angel instead of a normal teenager who was in the right place at the right time. A little kid like her, she needed something to believe in other than luck.

When Tripp saved me, I had wondered if he was an angel too. An angel set by God to take me away from everything. When I quickly found out different, everything had shattered for me. I kept going, but with no hope. I knew I would never get out of New York. Never get away from the yelling and the fighting and the pain.

This kid should have different, and that's why I said what I did. "Yes."

I picked her up gently, avoiding her cuts and bruises best I could. She looked at me skeptically, "I thought angel's wore white, and had halos."

I had to think of a lie, so I said the most ridiculous thing I could. "I'm a dark angel."

"What's the difference?" She asked.

I knew Tripp was staring at me, wondering why I was feeding the kid this garbage, but I didn't care in the least. "It means that I hurt people who hurt others. Normal angels don't hurt anybody."

"So a normal angel wouldn't have helped me?" She asked.

"No!" I said quickly, "I just… um, they would have just flown you away, and left the guy here. Now… where are your parents?"

I was totally prepared for her to say that she had none, but instead she smiled a little, "My daddy has an apartment a few blocks down."

"Why aren't you there?" I asked.

"I was walking to the corner store to get a candy bar." She said, holding up three dollars. "Cause Daddy said I could get whatever I wanted with my allowance."

"Alright." I turned to Tripp, who was unsurprisingly helping himself to the money from the dirt bag's wallet. "I'm taking the kid home."

He nodded, "Sure, you want your forty percent?"

"I don't want that creep's money." I spat, walking out with the girl.

She pointed me in the direction of her house. "Next time, ask Daddy to go with you to the store."

She nodded, "Okay."

We walked in silence, until she asked, "Why don't you just fly us there?"

"Dark angels don't have wings." I said, batting the question away. I was getting good at this. I guess this is what comes from an overactive imagination.

She nodded, and then looked to a nicer looking apartment building, "I live on the fourth floor." She explained, pointing to the balcony third to the left. "That's my window."

I smirked, shifting her around so she was riding piggy back, "Just don't mess with my arrows."

"Are you sure your not cupid?" She questioned. I did laugh at that one.

"I'm sure kid. What's your name anyways?"

"Marlo." She said. "What's your's?"

"Uh…" What the heck kind of name was an angel supposed to have. "It doesn't matter."

"Okay." She said, and I grabbed the drain pipe with both hands, again thankful for the gloves. I planted my feet on either side of the wall, climbing hand over hand up to the balcony. I grabbed the railing, yanking myself up over the railing, and setting the girl down gently.

She smiled up at me, despite the pain she must be feeling. "Thanks Angel."

I bit my tongue as she went inside, calling for her dad.

"Hey, Brantley!" Hissed Tripp. I looked down, seeing him leaning against the building, "You done yet?"

I nodded, looking back into the sliding glass door, and nearly screamed.

Marlo was hugging a young man who looked to be in his early twenties, tall, brown hair, icy blue eyes, and a face I hadn't seen in a long time. I shimmied down that drainpipe faster than I ever had.

Tripp raised his eyebrow, "What's wrong?"

I shivered in the cold night air, I should have gotten a jacket at the mall last night. "That girl's dad…"

"What?" Tripp asked, "He get mad at her or hit her or something?"

"No!" I snapped. "Jason would never do that!"

He raised an eyebrow, "Who's Jason?"

I paused, then sighed, "Jason is my brother."

Tripp didn't say anything else, because there was nothing left to say.

I trudged to my warehouse, tears threatening to break through my eyes. No tears, no crying, no weakness, I left all that behind long ago.

Tripp's voice rang through my ears. _If you cry, then you've already given up. We're all going to go down one way or another. It's inevitable for people like us, we'll have the most gruesome deaths there are, but if I have to go down, I'm going to go down guns blaring, curses ringing, and no tears falling. No one will get the pleasure of breaking me._

I shuddered, trying to contain it all in. Tripp had been right back then, and he was still right, if I was going down, I was going down swinging. I took a deep breath, pushing it all away. Okay, so I had seen my brother, one of my brothers, after nearly five years. And apparently I now had a niece, who thought I was some guardian angel.

I paused, looking over my shoulder to stare at my arrows. Maybe I could be.

I nodded, stopping in front of my warehouse, and shoving the door open, walking in hastily. I would be her guardian angel. She would never want for anything. No one would touch her in any harmful way. Jason too, and whatever wife he now had.

Jason wasn't the type to have a kid with someone he wasn't married to, that principal had been drilled into us down to the bone since we had been born.

I put my bow and arrows to the side, curling up on the musty mattress. I had taken to sleeping in my clothes, since a drug dealer had broken in about four nights ago without warning and let me tell you, it was awkward enough for a guy to see me in short boxers and a tank top, it was even more awkward when I had to kill him in said clothing.

I sighed, great next I suppose I was going to be some sort of superhero. Despite the annoyance of my stupidity, I couldn't help but think of my brothers, and how we used to be.

_Jason smirked down at me as I pulled on my bright yellow boots with red buckles. "You look ridiculous."_

_I looked down at my dark purple leotard and tights with a light purple vest and belt. I did, he looked no better. "And you look like you had a run in with the blue fairy."_

_He glared down at his like wise uniform, only blue and silver. "Give me a break, I was eight when I picked it out."_

"_Likewise." I said back._

_Before we could start arguing, William came in, stopping the eight year old me and eleven year old Jason from really going at it. He held up a scrap of cloth, dark purple, "Brantley, put your mask on."_

_I took the domino mask from him, putting it on awkwardly, "Like this?"_

_Jason laughed, while William, my fifteen year old brother, came over, taking it off gently and flipping it, "You had it on backwards."_

_He put it back on correctly, smiling, "Nervous about your first performance?"_

"_Yes." I admitted._

"_Just remember what Grandpa taught you." Will advised, "And remember, we'll be watching from the sidelines, we're all here for you."_

_I beamed up at him, "Thanks Will."_

_He smiled, ruffling my brown hair, and messing up my pig tails._

"_Oops." He said, and I giggled. He pulled them out, "Guess we might as well just let it fall down."_

_This was a running thing between us, my Mother, saint she was, was always putting my hair into cute little girl hairstyles like pig tails with ribbons and bows. I hated it. My brown curls fell out, falling down my shoulders, and into my eyes._

_Another voice sounded, Andy walking into the small side tent, "Uh oh, can't have that."_

_Andy was the oldest of my brothers, he was seventeen, and all of us, even Jason, looked up to him with respect. He wasn't even eighteen, but he had finished high school, and had gotten a scholarship to several universities, but had turned every one of them down, instead deciding to stick with the circus. He was a true inspiration._

_He pulled two red barrettes out of the front pocket of his silver and black uniform, gently pulling my hair out of my face. "Don't ever cover up your eyes Brantley, don't hide from the world."_

_I nodded enthusiastically, gripping the silvery throwing knives in my hand, when I heard my dad shout from the main circus tent, "And now, a young marksman with an eagle eye, Brantley Blade!"_

_I rushed into the arena, tucking my knives into my pocket and cart wheeling in, spinning and turning my back on the spotlight, before flipping back into a hand spring, landing sole center into the center of the ring, the crowd erupting in awe._

_I gave a bow, before my dad spoke again. "She's a cute package of brown curls and dimples, but don't let her fool you, she can dust the ash off your cigarette by throwing a knife! Take it away kiddo."_

_I turned towards the three bulls eyes set up, and took out a single knife, hurling it at the center one, beaming as the soft thud carried out the entire arena._

"_Bullseye!" Shouted my dad, and the crowd cheered. A clown stepped up, taking the bullseye away while another clown pushed a new one in it's place. "Now, let's see her hit all three! Can you do it kiddo?"_

_I nodded, taking out three knives, and taking a deep breath, and closing my eyes. No one else in the world._

_I shot them forward, giggling in utter childhood glee when they each the center of a different bullseye, earning immediate applause from the crowd. "Let's give her a hand folks, she's a star in the making!"_

_I dashed out of the ring, doing flips and hand springs, spinning, and just honestly, flying._

_Andy scooped me up as soon as I got to the edge, lifting me up onto his shoulder, "You did great!"_

_Will nodded, clapping and smiling, "It was awesome! You've really got this down!"_

_Jason dashed past us, shouting a quick, "You did great!"_

_It wasn't because he didn't want to congratulate me, it's just because his act, eating fire, was right after mine._

_I giggled as Andy set me down, "And as a reward for being so great your first performance," He took out a big blue ball of fluff, "Left over cotton candy!"_

_I grabbed the huge ball, stuffing it into my mouth gleefully. I stared up at both of them, mouth full of cotton candy and blue sugary drool. "I wuv you!"_

_They laughed at me, amused at the sugary full mouthed speech._

I sighed at the memory, wishing things were still that simple, that I could eat blue sugary sweets while watching Jason swallow fire, or Will fly from trapeze to trapeze, defying death, or Andy walk across a tight rope like it was a sidewalk, sometimes with me on his shoulders.

I shook my head, angry at myself for thinking that. Only a child makes wishes, and I am no child, nor will I ever be again.


	12. Maybe It Sucks,

**WITH JADE, IN LOUISIANA:**

"And so now Ah'm training under Black Widow, Ah'll take her place on the Avengers eventually." I explained to my parents.

Mom was sitting there, a bit paler than usual, relieved that I was back safe and sound, but utterly shaken at the fact I was now part of a highly advance government facility at age sixteen.

"Jade." My father said evenly, he had taken this a bit better than Mom, keeping a straight face throughout it all. "You're only sixteen, I think you better hold off on this, I'm alright with you doing this once you graduate, but you're to young right now."

Natasha spoke up, she had been standing behind me while I told them the story, arms crossed, indifferent to the situation. "Jade won't being to actually work for S.H.I.E.L.D. until she does turn eighteen."

That was a lie, was both knew I might be called to duty in only nine months. But Natasha continued, "Rest assured, with two years of training, your daughter will be one of the most lethal fighters S.H.I.E.L.D. has ever seen. It's what your family has done for years, serve their country, Jade will simply be taking it to the next level."

Mom spoke up then, glaring slightly at Natasha, "And then what? Be killed in action? All we'll be getting from ya or this S.H.I.E.L.D. is a letter of condolence that means nothin!"

"Actually." Natasha said, "She won't be working alone, she'll be working with a team of four other talented children, all protégé's of the Avengers. She'll have more chance of survival than anyone who were to enter the Air Force."

Mom paused then, there was no more logical argument to offer, since she knew I had been planning on going into the Air Force after high school, but there was still so much more emotional reason. I was her daughter, and she didn't want me to leave.

Dad thought it over again, then nodded, "Fine." His eyes met mine, holding my gaze, "Jade, is this what you want to do with your life? From the sound of this organization, it's not something you can walk away from if you change your mind."

I didn't falter, "Dad, ever since Ah was little, Ah've waited at home with Mom while ya were off, going wherever the army told ya to. As much as Ah missed ya, Ah knew that ya said ya were doing somethin bigger, but ya were just one soldier, anyone could have done it. Nearly half of our family had rushed into the army, it's just what we do. But now, Ah have something right in front of me, something bigger than anyone in our family has ever done, bigger than just a soldier. Ah'm doing it."

He nodded, and I could tell my words had stung a little, but they were true. "You can do it Jade, you've got the upbringing of a soldier, and the will of a whole army. Good luck to you."

He stood up, holding out his hand. I stood too, shaking his hand, before he yanked me forward, wrapping me in a hug that I quickly returned. "I'm proud of you."

His voice held no trace of a southern accent, having grown up in California, and moved to Louisiana at twenty-one. He had met my mom, settled down with the family he had made, and then enlisted in the army to provide for it. The accent had never rubbed off on him in the slightest.

Mom quickly joined in on the hug, which lasted a bit to long. As soon as it ended, mom took a strand of my hair in her hand, "Just promise me ya'll wash this ridiculous color out of yer hair."

I chuckled at that, "Sorry Mama, Ah didn't dye this in, it's part a that mutation Ah told ya Ah had. It ain't goin away anytime soon."

Mom groaned, I had always sworn to her I would never dye my hair some crazy color like this, and now I was stuck with it.

**WITH TYSON, IN BRUCE'S LABORATORY:**

"So," Bruce said while sticking a needle into Tyson's wrist to draw blood, "Anything you need to smooth over with your parents before officially moving in here?"

"They would never let me do something like this." Tyson admitted.

"Not to fond of the thought of you taking off with some die hard gang of assassins, huh?" Bruce asked.

"Dad never really liked the idea of me being special." Tyson corrected. "Never let me go out for sports, or any extra classes, fought the teachers tooth and nail about putting me in advanced placement."

Bruce nodded, "So, you were a smart kid?"

"Yeah." Tyson said, shrugging as Bruce stepped away, putting the blood sample into a box, then storing the box in a secluded corner of his desk. "Top of the class."

Bruce looked up, "Really?"

Tyson chuckled, "Yeah, in Anatomy and sports."

"Odd combination." Bruce commented, leaning on the edge of his desk, smiling in a friendly way at Tyson.

Tyson shrugged, "Just my forte."

**LATER ON, TRAINING WITH BLACK WIDOW AND JADE:**

Widow stared Jade down, glaring at her as she fell into a fighting stance mirroring her mentors. "What are you doing?"

"Um… getting ready to fight-"

"Why are you hesitating!" Widow snapped. "This isn't a one on one fight at a mall karate class, the fate of the world is hanging by a thread, and there are millions upon millions of people between you and an atomic bomb detonator. Take me out!"

Jade stumbled for a minute at the extreme reference, before shooting forward with a basic punch. Widow leaned to the right slightly, avoiding it easily. "You call that an attack?"

Jade's feet and shoulders suddenly click into place, and just like that, her punches are heavier, faster, and have so much more force behind them. Natasha suddenly realizes, Jade is in a boxing stance.

She dodges all the punches Jade throws, impressed slightly at the sheer force behind them. She bat's Jade's left jab away, "To direct."

Jade went in for a right hook but Natasha stepped back easily, "To slow."

Jade went for another punch, but this time Widow grabbed it, flipping Jade over her shoulder, making her face plant on the sparring mat harshly.

Jade stumbled up, staggering at the disorientation for a moment. Natasha was about to stall the match and make sure the girl was okay, but she was cut off by a foot flying at her face. Natasha had to literally bend over backwards to avoid it, and she immediately righted herself. Oh, Jade had done kickboxing.

This was good, this meant she had stamina that few had, boxers went for hours on end fighting, with few breaks. The technique was sloppy and to direct, but that could easily be taken care of.

Jade went in for another punch, and Natasha spun her around quickly, kicking the back of her knees. Jade stumbled down, shocked a bit at the cheep shot.

Widow jerked her up by her collar, driving a fist into her stomach. Jade put her arms up in a guard, blocking Natasha's punches with difficulty.

Natasha ducked down low, kicking Jade's legs out from under her. As soon as she hit the ground, she drove her fist into Jade's stomach again. Jade grunted, grabbing Natasha's shoulders and flipping her over, so she was in mount position. Widow grabbed her fist before she could punch her in the face, flipping them over so Jade was pinned beneath her, face pressed harshly into the mat.

Widow sighed, "We've got a lot of work to do."

**WITH JACKSON, CLYDE, AND TAMA:**

The storage room was pretty big, the edges and two sides taken up by crates. The clearing in the middle was taken up by a small table, occupied by the three youngest team members and their late night meal of subs and soda.

Fury had set the room aside, saying that it was their recreation room. Several rooms across the hall served as bedrooms for Tyson, Clyde, and Jade. Tama and Jackson didn't need any, since they wouldn't be living here.

Tama took a sip of her soda, looking up at Jackson, "Do you really think Jade will be dead by morning?"

Jackson nodded, "Afraid so, Widow is what we men call a She Devil."

Clyde looked up, shocked, "She is?"

Jackson laughed, "Yeah, she is. I mean, don't get me wrong, killer body, nice face, but she'd bit your head off if you ever tried anything."

The door opened, and Tyson walked in, "Yeah, well you are like, one third her age Jack."

Jackson smirked, "Age is merely a number my friend."

Tyson glared, "No, age matters, a lot."

"How so?"

"Well to begin, because of that number she'd end up in an orange jumpsuit should your little fantasy come true." Tyson sneered.

The door opened, and Jade walked in, dragging her feet slightly, eyes with a far off look. Tama grinned, "She's alive!"

Tama jumped up onto the table, holding her can of soda into the air as Jade sat down, "A toast, to Jade, for defying death like a true warrior!"

Jackson and Tyson exchanged glances, while Jade rested her head on the table, "To… tired… to care."

Tyson chuckled, "Tough training?"

"I think I have more bruises than skin." Jade pulled back her leather uniform sleeve, and everyone grimaced at the purple and blue blotches.

"Yikes." Tyson mumbled.

"Tell me about it." Jade groaned.

Jackson held up a coke, "Thirsty?"

"Water." Jade mumbled, and Clyde quickly handed over his.

Tama got down from the table, feeling a bit confused why no one had lifted their drinks with her. It was always fun to do that on Asguard. Here on Midguard, hardly anyone acted as happy as they should. "Don't be ill willed."

Jade raised her eyebrow, "What?"

"Those bruises are trophies." Tama explained. "You have survived the first day of what hundreds upon thousands of others never could, let alone get the chance to."

Jade nodded, "Yeah, in kickboxing, we always worked in a group. You got tired, but there were always people around you, just as tired and just as new to it as you were."

Tyson nodded, "You know, maybe Tama has the right idea about this." He raised his coke can slowly, "Alright, I've never done this, so correct me if I do it wrong Tama."

She nodded, focusing on his speech carefully.

Tyson cleared his throat, "Alright, so maybe the fact that three of us here have to stay on this helicarrier for most of our lives kind of sucks-"

"And boss man is a total dork." Jackson interjected.

Tyson nodded, "But, we're with the Avengers, and we're going to be the next Avengers. We'll work hard at whatever it is we each do, I'll be flicking fire from my fingers-"

"Try saying that three times fast." Jackson interjected again."

"Jade's gonna be a master of all martial arts, Tama's gonna be a warrior of… Asguard, was it?" Tama nodded, and Tyson continued, "Jackson will still be a little jerk."

"Thank you."

"And Clyde will… do whatever it is he's going to do." Tyson mumbled.

"Cool!" Clyde said enthusiastically.

"And this, whatever this team is, is seriously, and I mean _seriously_, going to be awesome." Tyson said.

Tama jerked her drink up, "Haza!"

Everyone paused, and Tama shrugged, "It basically means, agreed."

Everyone hesitated, before lifting the bottles and cans, "Haza?"

Tama sincerely hoped that their tones didn't reflect the actual outcome of the team.


	13. But I Earned It

"So, how do you like the new ink?" Tripp said, gripping his beer can and smirking down at me as I checked out my new tattoo.

I bit my lower lip, looking down at the big red HU tattooed on my left inner elbow. "It burns."

"You know what burns worse?" He asked

"What?" I asked.

He grinned, and tilted his beer can to the side, splashing the ten minute old tattoo. I yelped, slapping him away and cradling the tattoo that burned even more. "Tripp, you suck."

He laughed, chugging down the last of his beer. "Hurts doesn't it? Learned that form my dad. When I got my first tattoo, he was so mad he poured a whole bottle of Budlight on it."

"Didn't like the tattoo?" I asked.

"Not one bit." Tripp laughed, "I swear, smoke was coming out of his ears when he saw it."

I glanced up and down his arms, "Which was the first tattoo?"

Tripp smiled, lifting his arm up so I could see the underside of it, and tapping the edge of a tattoo I hadn't noticed before. "Vanilla Ice?"

"He was awesome in his own time kid." Tripp explained.

"That's stupid." I said, frowning.

"Oh, and Hollywood Undead is so much better?" Tripp said, frowning.

"Are you seriously even asking that question?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

That shut him up.

"I'm running out of arrow's Tripp." I complained as we walked down the street.

He frowned, giving the matter some thought. "Do you really need more? I mean, I can get you a gun, Jesus, I could get you grenades, even a bazooka."

"Arrows." I insisted.

"What happened to your knives?" He said, glaring at me.

"I can only throw them so far." I explained. "No worries, I've still got plenty of them."

"One in particular though, right?" He asked, nodding to the knife that I was now keeping strapped to my belt.

"You know this one's special." I chided him, "Now, about the arrows?"

He was silent for a moment, "I take it you want explosives, knock out gas, and the grappling hooks you keep bragging about, right?"

"I don't really want the explosives, knock out gas is a stressed interest, and the grappling hooks are a necessity." I explained. "I'm pretty dependant on them. Knock out gas comes in handy when I really don't want to, or just cant possibly fight."

He nodded to himself. "I know someone, might be able to cook something up."

"Well by all means, don't keep it to yourself." I pressed.

"Expert weapons designer." He said, "Called The Maker."

"The Maker?" I asked. "That's the stupidest name-"

"I made that name." Tripp said, glaring at me.

"… It's an awesome name." I amended.

"Yeah." he growled, "It is."

"So uh… The Maker can… uh, make me some arrows?" I asked.

"Yeah." Tripp said, stopping in the middle of the sidewalk, turning to me. "Just give me one arrow of each, and The Maker'll have em out to ya pronto."

I nodded, reaching around to my quiver and taking them out.

Tripp took them, "Just one condition."

I frowned, "What?"

"Well, I kind of owe this less than savory character a favor." Tripp confessed, "And he's kind of got thugs trailing me all the time to make sure I don't split town before I do it."

My frowned deepened. "What exactly is this favor?"

"I have to ghost some guy that's got some rival drug dealing circle." Tripp explained.

"You're helping a drug dealer!" I asked, thoroughly shocked, Tripp hated drug dealers.

"This one I owe a favor." He reasoned.

"What did he ever do for you?" I snapped.

"He didn't kill me when he caught me with his daughter." Tripp explained.

"I don't care- wait, you were dating a drug dealers daughter?" I asked.

"Still am." He said proudly.

I shook my head, "Wow."

"She's hot." He said, shrugging.

"Is that all you guys care about?" I snapped.

"Me, pretty much, yeah." He said.

"You're a real jerk, you know that?"

"Only to the girls I date." He said.

"Thank God I'm not one of them."

"You're not my type." He said, "I don't like tough girls."

"I am complimented, and insulted." I said. "Great, my only friend is a jerk."

"Hey, you're the one who took the job from me in the first place." Tripp said, reminding me of the night he offered me a life.

"Yeah, but I distinctly remember you saying that I was getting a job, not a friendship." I sassed.

He smirked, shooting his arm around my shoulders and pulling me into a headlock, "Stop your whining kid."

I wiggled out of the hold, glaring at him, "Don't smudge the ink."

He laughed a little, "Uh oh, here comes the I-got-a-tattoo-so-I'm-all-tough thought process."

"… What?"

"Never mind." He said, "Now, here's the deal, you're gonna ghost the guy." Tripp reached into his pocket, taking out a folded up piece of paper, "Here's his name, address, family members, everything you'll need to know."

"I… I have to kill someone?" I asked, nearly in a whisper. I had killed people before, but it was because they had either tried to kill me, or like Marlo's case, in which I had saved them from death.

Tripp shrugged, "Yeah, he's a drug dealer kid, scum."

"But, by killing him I'm just helping another drug dealer!" I protested. "He hasn't done anything to me, I can't-"

"Brantley!" Tripp snapped, "You live on the streets, you lie and steal for a living, This whole honor thing you've got going on, I knew from day one it wasn't gonna last to long. You held out for four years, be proud of that." his harsh expression turned to one of comfort, "But this is how it goes, and this is what you've got to do. Survival of the fittest, right? Whatever it takes to survive."

I bit my lip, "How am I supposed to kill him?"

"You've got a bow, a few arrows, and an eagle eye." Tripp said, turning and walking away. "I _think _you can figure it out."

I glared at him as he walked away, Tripp could be a jerk sometimes.

I checked the time on the watch I had gotten, finding it a necessity seeing as I had no clock or phone to keep track of time. It was getting late, already six p.m. Time to visit Marlo.

I had her address memorized, so getting there didn't take to long. Walking down the street was much easier now, the red Anarchy symbols on the back pockets and the knees of my black pants kind of seemed to have that effect on people. They tended to back off. What can I say? People are stupid and stereotypical.

I walked to the back of her apartment, looking up at the balcony, no one was on it. I grabbed the drainpipe, sighing, and scurrying up quickly. I really needed to install a rope ladder or something. Since two weeks ago, when I had first met Marlo, I had visited her three times. She had stopped asking questions about angels, thank God, and now she just talked about what was going on with her.

I was often tempted to ask her about Jason, he should only be nineteen, but he had a four year old daughter and a wife. Marlo often talked about her Mommy, and I had seen a wedding ring on Jason's had through a window last week. Simple gold band, just like Mom and Dad.

I grabbed the edge of the balcony, yanking myself over the edge, and into a crouching position on the railing.

Marlo was laying on the floor just inside the door, scribbling on paper with crayons. Jason was sitting beside her, smiling at her over the top of his book. A woman walks into the living room, she's beautiful, tall, blonde wavy hair, green eyes, a smile with dimples, and perfect skin. She looked like the perfect Mom. "Green beans or mash potatoes with your pork chops?"

Jason opens him mouth, and I know he'll say green beans, since they were his favorite vegetable growing up. Andy, Jason, and I had all been very good eaters as children, Will had been the only problem kid in that area. He would eat nothing even remotely green, so dinner was usually with carrots or mashed potatoes.

Marlo interjects quickly, "Mashed potatoes!"

Jason pouts, "But Marlo, it's my turn!"

"No green!" She protests. Her Uncle Will would be so proud of her right now.

Jason sighs, "Fine, mashed potatoes it is- hey, what are you drawing?"

Marlo proudly held up her drawing, "It's my angel!"

I raised an eyebrow, and Jason looked at his wife hesitantly. She smiled encouragingly at Marlo, "The angel that saved you from the mean man?"

Marlo nodded, "Yes, see? She's pretty! She's got brown hair and blue eyes that look just like Daddies!"

"Just like mine?" He asked. I blinked my eyes behind my bangs, slightly irritated that I could hardly see through them. Icy blue eyes, everyone in my family had them, except a few of my more distant aunt and uncles.

Marlo continued, "She brought me home, climbed up the drainpipe and left me on the balcony."

"Did she tell you her name?" Her mom asked.

"She said it wasn't important." Marlo dismissed. "She comes to visit me sometimes."

Her mom smiled, "In your dreams?"

"No, out on the balcony, I saw her four days ago." Marlo said.

Her mother looked at Jason, who cast a wary look at her, and then to the balcony. I had to duck to the side so he wouldn't see me crouching on the railing.

Jason spoke next, "Honey, next time you see your angel, call me okay?"

Drat. Jason, you always ruin my fun. Always.

"Okay Daddy." Marlo agreed.

I waited out there until they were finished eating, and Jason and his wife were watching American Idol. Marlo snatched up her drawing, and rushed out to the balcony, "Angel?"

"Over here." I said dryly.

She whirled around to see me, and then looked to the door, about to scream for Jason, but I grabbed her, slamming her mouth shut, "Don't tell anyone I'm here!"

"But Daddy said-"

"I don't care!" I hissed. "Stop telling people about me, cause I can guarantee you your father does _not _want to see me."

"But, but, Daddy doesn't hate angels!" Marlo protested.

I sighed, "Listen kid, you've got to keep me a secret, no more talking about me."

"Okay." She said, holding up her picture, "I drew you!"

I took the picture from her, she was pretty good at drawing, honestly, she drew better than me. It was me, standing in front of her, holding up my bow, loaded with an arrow, aiming at a man dressed in a black trench coat with a black fedora. I guess that's just how little kids saw bad guys.

"It's cool." I said, nodding with approval, and handing it back to Marlo, but she shook her head.

"You keep it." She ordered, "It's a thank you for saving me."

Nice kid, smart kid too. "Thank you."

She nodded, and then stepped forward, stretching up to hug me around my waist, "Thank _you_. You saved my life."

I nodded, and she stepped away, beaming up at me. Time to ask a question I should have last week. "Marlo, do you have any uncles?"

She nodded hastily, "Oh yeah! I have two uncles, Uncle Will and Uncle Andy!"

"Where are they?"

"Uncle Andy lives a long ways away, he only comes in for my birthday and Christmas." She said, "Uncle Will lives a few hours away, He comes over every few weeks."

I nodded, "Do they have any kids? Wives?"

She nodded, "Uncle Will has a wife and two sons, Daniel and Kyle. Uncle Andy doesn't have any kids, or a wife."

I felt a little puzzled by that, "What? Why not?"

"I don't know, you want me to ask him?" Marlo asked innocently.

"No, that's okay." I said. "I think it's best if you don't talk about me to much."

Marlo nodded, "Okay."

She seemed a bit disappointed, not being able to talk about an angel that saved her life and came to visit her often. "Uh… do you want a present?"

She nodded enthusiastically, her disappointment vanishing. I smiled, leaning down and pulling out one of my many throwing knives, and taking her small fist, wrapping it around the handle gently.

"This is what we call a throwing knife. It's not meant for a dual, so don't treat it roughly." Her eyes grew wide at the blade in her hands, and I smiled. "I was about your age when I started using these."

"You were?"

I nodded, "Yeah, and because I started at such a young age, the skill stuck with me through everything. It saved my life several times, and I want you to keep this."

She looked up at me, and raised an eyebrow, I shook my head, "Just incase something happens to me, if I disappear, or I die, I want you to keep this okay?"

She nodded in understanding, "When will I see you next?"

I shrugged, "Not sure."

She nodded again, and rushed back inside. I probably shouldn't have given a five year old a knife.

I had other things to think about. To kill, or not to kill. That's the question. I sighed, shimmying down the drain pipe. "My life sucks."

I'm not some spoiled teenager that says that just because I feel like it. I have fought for, and earned the right to honestly say, my life does suck.


	14. Find Someone

It had been three weeks training in S.H.I.E.L.D., and those weeks were the longest three weeks any of them had ever experienced. Ever. Jade had learned a new meaning to the term long and hard, her training had been the complete opposite of easy. Tyson had learned it was best not to try and light your whole body on fire, unless you want to have to walk out of the titanium box naked. Jackson had learned every weapon on, and every usage of, his armor. Tama had spent many hours with her father, learning the most basic fighting techniques. After hours of begging, Steve had finally taught Clyde several of the boxing techniques he had learned, and Clyde had even been able to use Steve's shield for one session.

They had training every day, and goofed off at night. Their recreation area was constantly used, and bonds were quickly formed. Jason and Tyson became fast friends, a ghetto boy and a country girl, who would have thought? Clyde and Tama, behind the youngest kids there, were humbled a bit by the situation and demand of becoming Avengers. They leaned on each other. Jackson hovered in-between the two sets of best friends, becoming the bridge that connected them.

Other than a some 'friendly ribbing' started occasionally by Jackson that Tyson would sometimes take the wrong way, they got along well, no sore spots dotted their connections, the elder didn't undermined the younger, and the genetically gifted didn't rein superior to the regular.

Things were looking up in S.H.I.E.L.D.

On the streets, they weren't

Brantley stood on a roof top, bow and arrow at the ready, aiming downward into the street, her target in it's line of fire. Her fist tightened, and she took in a shaky breath. Seconds ticked by, and she cursed under her breath, "Come on, shoot." She ordered herself.

Her hand refused to obey, and the arrow didn't move. "You've killed before, there's no difference."

There was a world of difference, those killings had been for her life, this was for money. Brantley had never thought of herself as a mercenary. She cursed more, words that would make a sailor blush emanating from her lips. "Shoot the arrow already!"

The man down below ducked into a cab, and Brantley cursed more, dropping her bow and arrow and slamming her fist into the edge of the roof.

"Why didn't you take the shot!" She screamed at herself. The answer was obvious, because she didn't want to.

**WITH HAWKEYE:**

Clint readied his bow, aiming at the target across the room, glancing at Black Widow out of the corner of his eye. She and her new protégé were standing there, Jade fumbling with the gun a little, cause she was skittish about them. Cute. He released his arrow, and it sailed through the air, embedding itself in the very center of the target.

Natasha's eyes flickered over to him, before returning to her pupil, "Keep it up Jade, and try to actually aim this time."

Despite being from the only state where everyone who had a gun knew how to use it, Jade had never fired anything but a rifle. The one handed weapon was a bit of a stretch for her.

Clint ignored Natasha's glance, firing another arrow, and cursing out loud when it missed by a centimeter. His new bow was different from his old one in weight and mass. Frankly, it annoyed him beyond belief. He wanted his old bow back, and as soon as his ribs mended, which should only be a few more days, he was going to get it back. Whoever that girl had sold it to was going to get one heck of a surprise this week.

More arrows fire, fueled by frustration, and several miss, making him even more frustrated, and give him poorer aim.

"_None of your business Clint."_

Clint nearly yelped, the sudden image of the girl in front of him, a snippet of their conversation throbbing in his ears. Her short brown hair, hanging in her eyes, making it look like she recently used a small knife to trim it, and probably had. She looked hungry, probably didn't eat much.

He shook the slight tinge of pity away. What did he care?

"_I wasn't expecting sympathy."_

He growled, firing another arrow at the target, before her image standing before it. His arm faltered, a sudden panic ensuing at the thought of actually shooting the girl in the heart. His arrow fell to the bottom of the target, no where near the middle. He felt Natasha's eyes on him, she knew something was wrong. He ignored her.

"_I'm not a thief."_

The phrase that he knew was false, pounding in his ears. Of course she was a thief, it was in the way she walked. She was stealthy, nimble, and small. She could slip in and out without being detected. Her eyes shone with a gleam, she had an eye for thieving, for seeing security cameras, for seeking out several different exits from one building. Her hands, scars and calluses told a long story of hardship, forced self training, and action. She had a hard life, but she was a fighter, she was surviving.

Beneath the street stained skin and filth, his eye could see what few could. Soft, pale skin, sleek figure, muscular legs but dainty arms. That's what she used to look like, until the street had turned her hard. She had been a wild, carefree child, a certain longing in her stance for a hug.

He had seen children from her background, words that spoke a different plea than their thoughts. When they said to leave them alone, that they were fine, they were really thinking, _'Please don't believe me when I say I'm okay. Hear the words that I can't say. I can't keep going on, I need a friend. Help me.'_

He used to think like that, to be one of those kids. Images of his father came floating back to him, if he really thought about it, he could remember a lot of things about his dad, but whenever he merely skimmed over his memory, one particular image stood out about him. The old man, sitting on the couch, beer bottle in one hand, the other one raised to hit him. That's how he remembered his father, not even his face, just what his hands held.

He sneaks another glance at Jade, her green hair making him think of Bruce. Tyson flickers into his mind, and he found himself wondering where Tyson's father was. Did he remember his father in a similar manner to Clint? Clyde and jade, what were their situations?

He doesn't even realize how much time has passed, until Natasha put a hand on his shoulder, snapping him out of his thoughts with one word. "Clint."

He looked at her over his shoulder, "What?"

"What's wrong with you?" She asked, getting to the point immediately.

He frowned, trying to ignore the fact she probably already knew what was wrong, just wanted him to say it. "Nothing."

"Tell me the truth." She demanded.

He sighed, dropping his stance, fiddling with the substitute bow awkwardly. "I just… I can't believe some no name street punk stole my bow. I… look, I _need _that bow. Alright? I hate this one."

Natasha gave him a look, "You were critically injured, she took advantage of that."

"It doesn't matter!" Clint growled. "I want my bow back."

Natasha nodded, "I see, what else it bothering you."

Clint's eyes flickered to where Jade had been standing. No one was left but them now, jade was long gone, and anyone else who had been around. Natasha's eyes widened, "Oh, I see."

"Yeah." Clint mumbled.

"We've all made investments in the future, except you." Natasha clarified.

"I'm just… stuck." Clint said, shrugging. "I mean, you're all making a difference in these kid's lives. You took them out of a bad situation, and now, they're better off. I…"

Natasha held up a hand, stopping him, "You feel you need to do the same, to repay the debt offered to you in the circus."

Clint nodded, a small part of him regretting telling Natasha his story, the other part scoffing, reminding him she would have accessed his file had he not. It was better she heard it from him.

"Well, change that." Natasha offered. "Find someone."

Clint snorted, "Yeah right, you all hit the jackpot with these kids. I mean, Jade already had training, Clyde, Jade, and Tyson are mutants. Tony's kid is practically a clone of him, and that speaks for itself. Tams is a demigod for the love of Christ."

Natasha rolled her eyes, "I'm going to give you two days to find someone, or I'm taking the appeal to General Fury so he can select someone. A new team of Avengers needs a Hawkeye."

Clint's eyes darted to her, "You wouldn't."

"I would."

They glared at each other for a few moments, neither backing down. "I don't need your help Natasha, I'll find my own tag along, and you're going to keep your pokey little Russian nose out of it."

She snorted, "No, I won't."

Lint growled, gathering his things together, trying not to punch the wall in frustration when he saw that all of his arrows but two hadn't hit remotely close to the center. "I'm getting my stuff back tomorrow."

He brushed past Natasha, still glaring, "And you're gonna leave me be about it woman!"

She chuckled at his retreating figure. "I swear, the man can't solve his own emotional qualms to save his life."

She turned to the target Clint had miserably failed to hit, taking out her gun, and shooting off without aiming. A smirk cascaded across her lips when she hit dead center.

Steve stumbled into the room awkwardly, "Natasha?"

She looked up at him, and eyebrow raised, "Yeah?"

"Why is Clint punching the walls in his room, mumbling about pesky Russian women?" Steve asked, a bit awkward with the question, knowing who Clint had been speaking about. Honestly, how many pesky Russian women who never left Clint's personal life alone where hovering around here?

She rolled her eyes, "Ignore him, it's his time of the month."

Steve immediately walked out of the room, his checks turning bright red.

**Alright guys, sorry it took so long, but at some of you may have noticed, I made a Watchmen fan fiction! It's JUST like this one, each Watchmen end up with a sidekick, and kind of like the movie, it's all basically told through one characters point of view.**

**So, if you like Watchmen, check it out! (Cause apparently Watchmen is like a dead fad, and I'm JUST jumping on the horse as of now… joy…)**


	15. I Taught Myself, I'm No Pity Case

Jade and Tyson smiled at each other, taking opposite positions on the sparing mat. "Ya sure ya wanna do this Tyson?"

He chuckled, "I think I can take you Jade, you may have your fancy advanced hand to hand combat training, but me? I've got street cred."

Jade rolled her eyes, "Alright, yer funeral."

Natasha smirked at the pair as they both fell into a fighting stance, looking at Bruce, "Get ready to wheel your trainee to the medical wing Bruce."

Bruce grimaced, looking at Tyson with pity, "I just hope he never does this again."

Tyson took a step forward, and Jade grabbed his outstretched fist, flipping him over her shoulder, and throwing him past Bruce and into the wall. Tyson hit the wall hard, his yelp of surprise being cut off by his groan of pain.

Natasha flat out laughed, and Bruce couldn't help but chuckle a little as Jade rushed forward, making sure Tyson was okay, "Tyson? Tyson? How many fingers am Ah holdin' up?"

Tyson groaned, staring up at the green haired girl with a far off expression, "Three?"

Jade nodded, "Yeah, yer okay."

Tyson shaking stood up, "Man girl, you sure can throw down."

"And you can sure… uh, talk 'bout throwin' down?" Jade offered

Natasha laughs more at this, and Bruce covers his face with his hands, really, the situation was quite hilarious. Tyson was at least five inches taller than Jade, and had a very muscular frame. Apparently you could get very bored while in the clutches of terrorists, and push ups and sit ups were the most fun thing there was to do. Even with all those advantages, Jade had still thrown him around like a rag doll.

Tyson laughed too, trying not to get upset at the fact a girl had beat him up, after all, he didn't consider himself sexist. If a girl could be him up, it didn't mean that he was really bad, it just meant that she was really good. And with Jade, if any man denied that a girl could beat him up, just out of a moment of male pride, she'd be the first to throw them into a wall to prove them wrong.

Tyson couldn't help but think, that Jade was pretty awesome because of that. She could be the sweetest little country girl, but insult her gender, and she'd go all Bruce Lee on you.

"Whacha smilin' at Tyson?" Jade asked.

Tyson shrugged, "Must be partial facial paralysis from being thrown into the wall head first."

**WITH BRANTLEY:**

I sighed, staring down at the street, deciding for the fifth time this week to try and eliminate the target. I aimed the bow, staring down at him with my sharp eyesight, clearly seeing the path the arrow needed to take, and adjusting the pressure on string.

I took a deep breath, and attempted to release the bow, but my fingers refused to uncurl. I cursed out loud, becoming more than frustrated with myself. My money was running out, I wouldn't get another job from Tripp until I finished this one.

I tightened my grip, "Take the shot." I ordered myself.

The target was kissing his date goodbye, a fake blonde who was to skinny, and only half his age.

"Take the shot." I snapped.

The man waved goodbye to a friend of his, heading toward the rode to flag down a taxi.

"Take the shot." I all but begged myself.

A taxi pulled up next to him, and the man grabbed a bag he had with him putting it in the trunk.

"Take the shot!" I screamed, and suddenly, an arrow flew, whizzing through the air, and slicing it's way right into the man's chest, into his heart. A direct kill.

I gasped, as the man fell, hitting the pavement. A scream sounded, and people looked, seeing his lifeless body lying there.

They scattered, they ran, drove off, leaving the man's body lying there. That's when it really hit me, that the man was dead. He had been shot from this rooftop, never even seen the attack coming.

With a hint of irony, I realized that the kill was exactly like me, cold, calculated, done with flawless precision, and from far enough into the shadows that no one would ever notice the real killer, this truly was a flawless way to kill. There was just one problem.

I hadn't shot my arrow.

My eyes darted to my bow, my arrow was still on place, ready to go. It hadn't moved an inch. That arrow, I had seen it, it looked just like mine. But I had gotten mine from… oh.

I whirled around, aiming toward the assassin that had taken him out.

His stance mirrored mine in every way, shoulders, arms, knees, even the way the chin stuck out slightly to give a wider range of sight. We glared each other down, both of us pulling our strings back a little further.

"You again?" I grumbled. Not tonight, oh come on, please God, if you're up there and you have any pity for me whatsoever, please not tonight!

He smirked, "Figured it was time to get my stuff back."

I shook my head, glaring at him, "It's mine now, and you've already got a new one."

He shook his head too, "Sorry, I like the one you stole a lot better, thief."

I growled, "I'm not a thief!"

"Yeah, yeah, you're a survivor or something, that's what you said last time right?" He snorted. "Don't care, just give me my stuff back."

I shook my head, and did something I should have earlier this week, I took the shot. The arrow flew through the air, going right towards him, but just as soon as I released mine, he released his, and it shot through the air, hitting the tip of mine, crashing together and falling onto the roof, useless.

My mouth dropped open, staring at the two arrows as they laid there, his had nearly split mine in half. I looked back up at Hawkeye, and he was smirking again, "Impressed yet kid?"

Yes, yes I was. "More like, running."

I took off for the edge of the roof, jumping off of it, and flipping into a stance in mid air, firing a new styled grappling hook arrow that the guy, The Maker, had come up with, while one end would fire off the grappling hook and attach to the edge of a building or something, the other would automatically clip onto the edge of my bow, meaning all I had to do was hold on to my bow for dear life while I swung through the air. I didn't have to attach the other end to a building and zip line across.

I fired, and grit my teeth at I felt the hook snag, feeling a jolt through my bow, and my knuckles turned white from the death grip they had. After nearly two months of swinging across rooftops in New York City, I still had a slight fear of extreme heights that was probably never going to go away.

I waited until I was hovering over a big enough roof top, and then I unhooked my bow, falling down onto the roof, rolling and springing up.

I looked over my shoulder to see Hawkeye in hot pursuit. I smirked, "Nice night for a run."

I too off running again, jumping from roof top to roof top, skidding over cold concrete. Hawkeye was only two roof tops behind me, and gaining. I ran faster, causing me to fumble my next jump, and my foot slipped, catching the edge. I slipped, tumbled down into the alley, and then crashed my head against the edge of a fire escape.

As I fell, I took out a grappling hook arrow, firing it and catching the edge of a building across the street. I was still about five or six stories up, so the line pulled me out of the alley I was falling into, and over the street. Cars whizzed by, headlights illuminating the dark, starless night.

I pushed my feet out in front of me, bending my knees, and bracing for impact on the wall of the building I was slinging towards.

I hit it hard, and I yelped, the arrow clip on slipping from my bow, and I fell to the ground, landing flat on my back. I staggered up, fumbling, trying to figure out where exactly I was. I backed into a boarded up window, but here's the catch, the wood was really old, and rotten all the way through. So, I get to fall through a window, onto sharp glass and discarded screws.

I let out a little scream, standing up, and looking around the building I had fallen into. Old rotten wood, glass, broken beer bottles, and disgusting trash littered everywhere. Overall, it was empty, no cover, no hidey holes. My eyes locked on the far wall, a stairwell. I sprinted for it, going as fast as I could, and trying not to slip over broken glass and damp mold.

Normally, if I had gotten this far away from someone who was trying to get me, I'd call it, and say I had won, there was no way anyone on the streets would ever keep up at this point, but this is Hawkeye. He's an Avenger who took on a whole alien army. I'm bringing my A-game, and nothing less.

I dashed up the stairs, cuts on my back from the glass starting to sting really bad, I think some of the glass was still stuck in there. I ran up for several floors, but they were all the same, empty. I made it to the top floor, to find nothing better.

I cursed out loud, punching the wall with my hand. I looked up at the ceiling, to see a ventilation shaft. I couldn't be that lucky, could I? On the other hand, this was an old building, the vents might not hold. I heard someone coming up the stairs, and figured, what the heck? Might as well try, instead of fight the persistence government agent.

I shot an arrow at the vent, and it exploded, making an opening big enough for me to crawl through, as debris fell from the ceiling. I jump up, grabbing the edge and hoisting myself into the vent, right as Clint ran into the room. I looked at him over my shoulder, and he tilted his head to the side, as if curious what kind of mental state I was in that my battle instincts told me 'run for the vents on the top floor' before he rushed towards me.

I scurried further into the vents, and felt his fingers brush against my ankle, before grabbing it, and yanking me back a few inches. I took out an arrow, and stabbed the side of the vent, making a bar for me to cling onto while he tried to pull me out.

He tugged harder, and I felt the arrow creak, it wouldn't hold for long. I let go with one hand, reaching for a thin edged throwing knife. I tossed it back at him, making sure it stabbed through his hand, but only the side of it, that way it didn't stab my ankle too.

He yelped, yanking his hand back, and I crawled farther into the vents, army style. Thank you Trent for teaching me how to use the vents as a means of escape.

I looked back over my shoulder, to see him scowling through the hole, he couldn't fit in here. I smirked back at him, "What's wrong, to tight a fit for you?"

His face disappeared, and I heard the sound of a bow being pulled back. "Oh crud-"

An explosion shook the vent ahead of me, and next thing I know, the vent falls out of the ceiling, and crashed to the floor, with me in it. The wind got knocked out of me, and I gasped for air. He had shot the area of the vent in front of me with an explosion arrow. That little…

Something stops me from finishing the sentence, a rolling motion. I clung to the sides of the vent, trying not to flip over, and failing. Clint was rolling the section of ventilation shaft across the floor. When I get out of here, I'm gonna-

Then, from the hole in the vent, I see Hawkeye, looking in at me, and I shoot him the dirtiest look I can manage, and he laughs. He flat out laughs at me.

He stops rolling me across the floor, and I here him walking to the other end of the tube. Then I feel it start to tilt. "Don't you dare you big-"

I cut myself off, because I have to throw my hands up above my head. He had tilted it up very far, standing it up on one end, making me fall to the end rested on the ground, headfirst. My hands act as my feet, holding myself up and preventing me from getting a concussion. Though from that fall in the alley, I might already have one. Thank God that my brothers made me learn how to stand on my hands when I was four.

"Clint!" I shriek, remembering his name.

I hear more laughter, he's enjoying this, picking on a little girl he find on the streets, like a cat with a mouse, right before the cat eats the mouse's head off. Although that's a very disturbing outlook on how this might turn out, I refuse to be his evenings entertainment. Watch this little lamb turn into a lion.

He gave the side of a the metal tunnel a harsh kick, making it turn over onto it's side, and I immediately sprinted out, pulling out my bow, and loading an arrow, shooting it at him without a second thought. He fired an arrow too, shooting down my arrow, both of them clattering to the floor. I fired another one, and he did likewise. We danced like that for a few minutes, arrows flying and falling, until I took half a step back, falling over a discarded piece of dry wall that had fallen from the ceiling in one of the explosions.

I hit the ground hard, and my bow flew out of my hand. Hawkeye was on my in an instant, driving a fist into my stomach, knocking the wind out of me. I gasped, trying to get the air back in, and trying to block his next punch, with no success.

His fist fell on my face like a sledge hammer, I heard a snap, and my face suddenly felt very wet. I kind of lost it, for a few moments, I had no idea where I was or what was going on, and I was vaguely aware of him taking something off of my back, but the minute I snapped out of it, I felt immediate, stinging pain on my face. He broke my nose.

I tried to stand up, little dazed, but he grabbed the front of my shirt, and pushed me backwards a few steps, until I couldn't feel the ground beneath me. I finally snapped out of it fully, and looked down, he was holding me, outside a window, hovering above the street, with one arm.

I screamed, grabbing onto his arm with both arms, tight.

"Are you insane!" I screamed. It was the only logical explanation, he was dangling my over a New York street by the front of my shirt.

Then he did something that made me want to _maim _him, in the most brutal fashion ever. He laughed. He freaking _laughed_.

"Stop laughing!" I ordered. "I'm dangling six stories in the air, over a New York boulevard!"

"Calm down kid." He said, smirking, as his grip on my shirt tightened.

"Calm down! I'm not gonna calm down, I'm gonna freaking die!" I screamed, grabbing onto his arm tighter.

"I'm not gonna drop you, unless you lie." He said, making me look at him head on, was he really going to interrogate me, while I was dangling _six stories in the air_! "Now, who taught you to fight like that?"

I looked at him like he was crazy, and honestly, he probably was. "No one!"

He shook his head, "No one can just wake up one day and fight like that, use a bow like that! I spent years, learning from a master bowman, where'd you learn?"

"No one taught me how to use your stupid bow!" I screamed at him.

He gave me a look, and dropped me. As I started to fall, twist in the air, and scream more, I felt him grab onto me again, by my ankle this time. He looked down at me, and I curled inwards, glaring up at him. "Alright then, let's say I believe you, where'd you learn to use those knives of yours?"

I glared at him, "My grandpa taught me a long time ago! Now take your stupid bow and leave me alone! You can have it, it isn't worth this!"

He laughed again, swaying me back and forth by my ankle, "What's wrong kid, don't like heights?"

"Stop swinging me!" I ordered, "And for the love of God, stop laughing at me!"

He chuckled, then went serious. "Why were you trying to kill that guy?"

I raised an eyebrow, "You mean the one you killed?"

He nodded, "Yeah, that one."

I rolled my eyes, secretly glad he had killed him and not me. Why on Earth he had ever fired the shot was beyond me, "Oh please, he was drug dealer, scum of the Earth! He sold his drugs to kids on the playground, you know why? Because even though scum like him sees more money in one paycheck then most do in their whole lives, he still though for some reason he needed _more_, so he started selling to _kids_!"

Clint raised an eyebrow, "You were going to kill him because of some sort of… self defendable justice? Is that what you are? Someone who takes the law in their own hands cause they're sick of seeing it on the street?"

"Uh… not exactly." I said. He paused, waiting for me to continue, to I sighed, "This guy was gonna pay me to kill him, since he was a drug dealer, I figured he had it coming anyways."

"So you kill for money?" He asked, glaring down at me, "How many lives-"

"That was my first time!" I protested, getting strangly comfortable with dangling six stories in the air, "I've never tried anything like that before! And… and I didn't do it! You did!"

"Because you couldn't." Clint pointed out, and I was silent. He was right, I couldn't take the shot. I couldn't find whatever emotion or drive that mercenaries, or heroes, or villains, whatever you want to call them, within me to take a life, not like that.

I sighed, "I know. I just… it didn't feel right."

Clint cocked his head to the side, "Have you ever killed before?"

I nodded, "Ton's of times, but it was always to save my own skin, never for money."

He was quiet for a while, before he spoke again, in a much softer voice, "How long have you been out here?"

"About three years." I said, shrugging, well, shrugging as well as I could in my position.

"Why are you out here?" He asked, "Where are your parents?"

"Dead." I said, emotionlessly.

"And no foster home? Orphanage?" He asked.

"Not my style." I snapped, "I'm not a pity case, now, story time is over, pull me back into the window, take your stuff, and leave me alone."

He didn't move for a few moment's and I really thought he was going to drop me, but he pulled me up, back into the building.

I stood up, turning around to look at him, "Thank-"

His fist connected with my face a second time, but instead of a broken nose, it brought pitch black. Last thing I remember before falling down into the pit of black, was Clint saying, "Hawk eye to S.H.I.E.L.D., I need a pick up."


	16. Theory Of A Deadman

Fury frowned, looking through the one way glass at the filthy, grime covered, teenage girl in the interrogation room. Although she couldn't see him through the one way mirror, she sat straight an tall, staring at the glass, because she knew someone was behind it. She either watched to many cop shows, or she's been in this situation before. Fury contemplated this, before turning his glare to Hawkeye, "You have exactly ten seconds to give me one reason why I shouldn't throw her off the helicarrier right now."

Clint shrugged, "New Avengers needs a Hawkeye too, S.H.I.E.L.D. protocol says I'm allowed to pick my successor."

Fury growled, "I'm starting to regret that rule."

Natasha peered in at the girl sleeping, "Clint, why is her nose broken in two places?"

"Um… well at least it's not her arm, right?" He offered.

"Cling, when I told you to find a side kick, I didn't mean to beat them up first!" Natasha scolded.

"Oh come on, it's just her nose!" Clint defended.

Natasha sighed, "How willing do you think she's going to be to join S.H.I.E.L.D. as your protégé if you broke her nose?"

Clint shrugged, "Oh come on, this kid probably get's her nose broken every other week, she lives in New York, in back alleys. The first time I met her, she was dumpster diving!"

Natasha raised an eyebrow, "What?"

"Dumpster diving, you know, rooting through trash cans looking for food?" Clint explained. "It's what the kids call it anyways."

Fury frowned, "I thought you said this kid was caught in the act of mercenary provocations."

"Yeah, she was about to kill a drug dealer. I wrote it all down in my report, read it whenever, never." He said, shrugging.

Fury sighed, "Clint, you know what? I don't care anymore. You wanna yank some punk off the street, smack her around, bring her onto a top secret government facility, then fine. Do whatever you want with the kid, I've got enough on my plate."

He turned to walk away, but Clint stopped him, "Sir?"

"What Barton?"

"There is one thing I need you to do for me."

Fury was less than thrilled.

**WITH BRANTLEY:**

I sat straight up in the hard metal chair, placing my hands on the metal table, folding them neatly, and glaring at the one way mirror. Clint was behind there, I just knew it.

He was going to come in here, asking questions, doing the whole ticked off cop routine, and try to get answers. Well, I am ticked off after being knocked unconscious, and waking up in a chair. It's very uncomfortable.

The door to my left opened, and a black man in a black trench coat and a black eye patch strode in, taking the seat across from me, placing a file down on the table. Hawkeye walked in next, walking over to the wall where the one way mirror was, leaning against the area of wall next to it.

"Am I about to be interrogated by Patchy the Pirate?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

He ignored me, "We took your blood and did a DNA test while you were sleeping, ran it through every database, ever file we had in out system, no match whatsoever." He dropped the file in front of me, "Congratulations, I've _never _met any human who managed to do that, stay under the radar from our facility, so completely."

I rolled my eyes, "That's pretty big words you're using, I'm just a street kid, Patchy."

He glared at me, "This is serious, you have no dental records, medical records, no birth certificate, death certificate-"

"Well duh."

His glare kind of shut me up. "I felt with such an impressive feat, I should reward you in some way, after all, according to you, you're a no body off the street, and according to us, you didn't exist, until now."

He gestured for me to open the file, and I did. It was all about me, had my picture, height, weight, sex, DNA, and a small description of my abilities, which were all contributed to Hawkeye's experiences with me. They had only gotten the tip of the iceberg. Honestly, it was a bit weird that they didn't have any of my records. "This is a reward?"

"Yes. Yes it is." He took the file back, "Congratulations, you now officially exist."

I rolled my eyes, "Whatever."

"I'm not sure you exactly understand your situation here." He continued, "You see, not only is your lack of existence puzzling, so are you skills, at so young an age. This is pretty serious, and the most likely explanation I can see is that your involved with some sort of other facility, whether they're friend or foe, that's for me to decide."

I raised an eyebrow, coating every word with sarcasm. "Yeah, a fifteen year old punk, that just so happens to also work for some sort of facility run by some enemy of America, it was all planned out, even before I got body tackled into a dumpster. It was a set up, and you all fell for it. Congrats, a fifteen year old bested you all, and now I'm in your hide out, where a small, inconspicuous device attached to my shoe is sending out kinetic pulses that are projected out like sonar so my employers now have a 3D hologram map of your entire facility."

I smirked at Hawkeye as Fury fumed, "Got that off of that Batman: Dark Knight movie."

He snorted, trying to contain his laughter.

Fury slammed his hand down on the table, "This is not a joke! How did you learn all these skills! Someone taught you!"

I smirked, "You really wanna know Patchy? Fine. I don't really like telling sob stories, but hey, you asked for it."

I took a deep breath, "I was born into a very… interesting family. To be blunt, they were circus folk, my biological family was the _entire _circus. I had so many aunts, uncles, cousins, it was really just ridiculous."

Clint raised his eyebrow, "You were born in a circus?" It wasn't just honest curiosity, he was… almost… cautious.

"Yeah." I said, "My dad was the ring master, a fantastic businessman. My mom made everyone's costumes, and mended them when they got worn. She was amazing with a needle and thread, which came in handy whenever someone got hurt, she sure did a good patch job." I patted my left shoulder gently, "She stitched this up when I was seven. Never felt a thing."

"So, I had three brothers, Jason, Will, and Andy. Andy was a tightrope walker, used to let me sit on his shoulders and walk me across when I was little. Jason would juggle flaming torches, and then eat the flames, it was really cool. Will was an acrobat, you should have seen that boy work a trapeze. He wasn't swinging, he was flying." I said quietly, remembering my brothers, who probably never wanted to see me after what I did to them.

"And you?" Clint asked, stepping closer to the table, arms crossed, frowning.

I chuckled, "Well, when I turned six, I had to start looking for something to do in the circus, being my mother's only daughter, she tried to get me to take up her job, or something non-dangerous, but my grandpa had a different idea. He was getting old, and he couldn't really do his act anymore. So, he talked to me in private one day, offering me his act."

_I sighed, fiddling with the needle and thread, casting my mother a glance out of the corner of my eye, she was busy at work on Aunt Barbara's pink tutu._

_A small "Psst" snapped me out of my trance, and I looked over to the door, grandpa was standing there smiling in a cunning old way, that only old men could. I smiled brightly back, flashing my crooked teeth at him. I looked back at Mom, hard at work on her tutu. I jumped down, bolting out the door behind grandpa, and he led me all the way across the circus tent, behind the tiger cages._

_He turned to me, smiling in that mischievous way, the twinkle in his eye that old age hadn't corroded. "Having fun with your mother?"_

_I frowned, "I don't like it, but she says everything else is to dangerous for a little girl."_

_Grandpa chuckled, "Ignore her, Andy was already starting to tightrope walk when he was your age, you being a little __**girl **__has nothing to do with your ability to try."_

_I smiled, "Really?"_

"_Really." He said, giving me a wink. "Half of your aunts are acrobats, lion tamers, and stunt horse riders."_

"_I never thought of that." I whispered. "But what am I supposed to do? Even Daddy wouldn't let me be a lion tamer…"_

_Grandpa chuckled, taking out one of his throwing knives, I was pretty used to seeing them, he used them all the time, but I never saw them lying around, he never left the knives where we could reach them. "Think you could handle mine?"_

_My eyes widened, and I carefully took the knife, my hands shaking slightly. "Am I… uh, allowed?"_

_Grandpa chuckled, "If you're willing to practice, I'll convince your parents."_

_I nodded quickly, "Okay!"_

"So." I said, looking up at Fury, "From then on, he taught me everything he knew about knife throwing. After about a year, I was a sure shot. It got to easy, so he did something neither of us ever told my parents about. He gave me a real knife, not a small show knife, a real deal, heavy damage military grade knife."

_I raised an eyebrow at Grandpa has he handed me the big knife, "I can't throw this!"_

"_It's not for throwing." He said, smiling, "It's for fighting."_

_I looked up at him in shock, "Fighting?"_

_He nodded, "You don't know this, but quite some time ago, there was another child I taught, he wasn't in our family, an orphan we picked up in a small town, but he left after awhile." I could tell there was more to this story, but I didn't ask because Grandpa, who was almost always smiling, looked very sad about this boy. "I taught him to fight to, and because of that, I hope he is still alive. Now, are you ready to learn? Before you answer, understand something, you can never tell your parents about it, they'll make you stop."_

_I paused, I had been doing my act in the circus for two years now, the thrill had begun to subside. I bit my lip, then nodded. "Alright Grandpa, I won't tell."_

_He smiled, "Good, now, there's one more rule for this. Unsheathe your knife."_

_I pulled the knife out of it's sheathe, and turned it over in my hand, seeing silver letters dug into the black metal. "An inscription?"_

_Grandpa nodded, "That's the second, and last rule."_

"_What's it mean?" I asked, reading it._

_He smiled, "When it comes time that you'll need to use it, you'll understand."_

I shrugged, looking at Hawkeye, I've still got the knife, I kept it. I'm guessing you took it once you knocked me out?"

He nodded, "Did you think I was dumb enough to give you a weapon?"

Fury raised an eyebrow, "Which knife? You had about thirty on you."

"The only one that isn't a throwing knife." I said, rolling my eyes.

Fury nodded at the glass, and a few seconds later, a woman walked in, with dark brown hair pulled up in a bun. She was holding my knife, unsheathed. She set it down in front of Fury, and then stood there, arms behind her back, at attention. Weirdo.

He held the knife up, reading the inscription out loud, "Draw me not without reason, sheath me not without honor." he looked up at me, raising an eyebrow, "Kind of cliché, don't you think?"

I shook my head, "It's not cliché, it's a good rule to live by, my grandfather was right, when the time came to use it, I did know what it meant, and I've understood, and followed it ever since."

Hawkeye spoke up, "I thought you said your parents were dead."

"Not back then, but if you'd be so kind as to let me finish?" I said cheekily.

He nodded, "I'm waiting." He tried to act cool, but something was bothering him. I could tell.

"So, when I was about eleven, the circus started losing money." I said, "So, my dad comes up with a new act, featuring me an him."

"Let me guess." Hawkeye said, "He would toss a penny into the air and you would hit it with a knife."

"Not even close." I snorted, "My target was a lot bigger. My dad would tie himself to a red and white target, and pray I didn't miss."

Hawkeye's eyes widened, "That's crazy-"

"No." I said firmly, "It wasn't. I was a sure shot, remember? I practiced for five years, and I could cut the ashes off of a cigarette in someone's mouth, standing exactly twelve feet away, with only one throwing knife. It wasn't suicide, it wasn't crazy." I felt a lump rising in my throat, but I forced it down quickly. "It was a circus act."

I felt a grin spread across my throat, "It was awesome, so much fun!"

I stood from my chair, facing Hawkeye, and the woman tensed, suspecting that I was about to attack. "I would stand like this." I stood sideways, holding my hands up like there were knives in them. "Two knives in my left hand, three in my right. I'd throw one, beneath his left arm." I shot my arm out like I was throwing a knife, visions of my Dad, circus spotlights, and the smell of roasted circus peanuts flashing through my mind. "Then he'd scream, pretending to be all scared."

I shot out my left hand, "Then two at the same time, between his legs, right above his knees." Hawkeye winced a little at that, but otherwise didn't respond. I pretended to throw the last imaginary knife in my left hand, "Then one right next to his chest, and you know what he'd say? He'd say 'You little snot! Learn from my mistake folks, I knew we should have gotten her piano lessons!' Always the joker my dad."

"But then something happened." Hawkeye predicted.

I nodded, losing my smile, feeling that lump come back to my throat. "It was when I was eleven, I had been doing the act for almost eight months, long enough that I was an expert at it." I paused, tightening my grip on the last invisible knife, in my right hand. "The end of the act, right after the piano lesson joke, last knife was supposed to go right next to his head."

I sat back down in my chair, trying to push the memory away, no crying, not in front of them, in front of people I hardly know.

Hawkeye stepped closer to me, leaning on the desk right next to my chair, He looked over at Fury, "You can leave now."

Fury stood up, taking the joke of a file away, the woman following his quickly, she didn't want to be here.

Hawkeye waiting until they shut the door behind them, before putting his hand on my shoulder, "And what happened?"

I felt my lip tremble a bit, before I bit it, trying to make it behave. "I…"

His grip on my shoulder tightened, "Say it."

"I missed." I said, my voice cracking. I shuddered, feeling the tears threaten to pool over. "I practiced that act for _eight months_! I did it for an audience every _two weeks_! How could I miss!" I felt a tear slither down my face, and I stubbornly swiped it away, trying to blink the rest away. "It was impossible!"

The hand that had been squeezing my shoulder starting rubbing it, trying to sooth me. "Accidents happen."

"… I should have been better." I took a deep breath, pushing away the rest of the tears and swallowing the lump in my throat. "So, I decided, I'd never miss again… and I never did." I whispered.

"What happened to your mom?" He asked.

"After Dad died, she was… she was never the same." I said, trying not to let the tears come back. "She tried to keep the circus running, but she was never the business man my dad was. The circus started failing, and Mom just got worse."

I shook my head, remembering the men in white coats showing up at our doorstep. "They said she wasn't fit to be a mother. They said they'd find us a better home." I looked up at Hawkeye, "I _liked _my home. I liked traveling around, and being home schooled, and working for the circus. "They didn't listen to me, to any of us."

"They took you all away from her?" He asked, "What about your grandfather?"

"They said he was to old, that he'd kick the bucket any day, and they'd just be right back. My aunts and uncles tried to stop them, but the state said if they wanted to adopt us, they'd have to go to court. They couldn't afford a lawyer." I said, crossing my arms, and glaring down at the table.

_I stood outside the circus tent at night, looking up at the cops in shock, "But I… I like my home here."_

_They didn't answer. Andy looked ready to kill someone, "We aren't leaving! I'm plenty old enough to decide where I want to go, and I'm staying here!"_

_Will nodded, "Me too!"_

"_Make me!" Jason screamed._

_Police officers grabbed us, pulling us into separate cars, pushing us away from each other. I struggled against them, "Andy! Help me! Will! Jason!"_

_Jason looked over his shoulder at me, "It's all your fault Brantley!"_

"_But-"_

"_I hate you!" He screamed at me, "You ruined everything!"_

_Will's voice sounded over Jason's "It's all your fault!"_

_I was pushed into a car, the door slammed behind me before I could hear anymore._

"So you went into the foster system." He said. "I know what that feels like."

"What do you know!" I snapped, glaring up at him.

He crouched down, so we were more or less eye to eye, "They tell you that you're a ward of the state, to be dealt with as they see fit, like you're their property." I turned away from him, glaring at the table. "They tell you to put all your things into a black trash back, like they think all of your stuff is garbage. They take you away from your brother, without even letting you hug him goodbye."

Speechless.

"And then you run away." He said, "With your brothers?"

"Without them." I said. "I got put into a different group home than them, I was tired of them telling me what to do, do good in school, smile at the grown ups, and maybe you'll have a good home by Christmas." I looked up at him, "I didn't _want _a new home! And I don't even _care _about Christmas!"

"So where'd you go?" He asked.

"… I broken into their storage room, and found my knife that they had taken from me." I said, "Then I bolted, and I didn't look back."

_I panted, running down the street, my bare feet scratching and scraping against cracked concrete, my knife clutched firmly in one hand. But I was getting tired, and I was only eleven, and I thought sleeping in an alley was a good idea. The minute I had curled up on a trash bag, I had been yanked to me feet, by three, big, burly men._

_One of them grinned at me, but his smile didn't feel right. I remember how my Aunt Barbara had warned me about men, with stories about women who get ganged up on. It was never graphic, but she had explained what they did, and what happened to the woman. I never thought I'd have to deal with it._

"_Hi there little girl." The one holding me said, that creepy smile dug into his facial features._

_I shook nervously, "H… Hi."_

"_Aw, are you all alone?" Another asked._

"_You can come with us." The first one offered._

_The third one nodded, "Yeah, we'll take real good care of you."_

"_We'll help you." The first one said, trying to pull me closer to him._

_I tried to pull away, "Leave me alone!"_

_He just laughed, "Don't be mean, we're just trying to help."_

_I yanked my wrist out of his hand, "NO!"_

_I pulled out my knife, all of Grandpa's lessons in fighting, suddenly, I couldn't remember them. I couldn't even remember how to stab._

_They got closer, each of them grabbing my arm, my hand, my head. "No, stop it!"_

_Everything I had forgotten suddenly came back to me, and the knife slashed, stabbed, cut, and severed flesh and bone. They all fell quickly, and I collapsed to my knees, holding myself, feeling so… wronged. I shook violently, the knuckles on the hand clutching my knife going white._

_I wanted my Mommy, Andy, Will, Jason, Grandpa, everyone, but most of all, I just wanted Daddy! I sat there, and I prayed, long and hard, asking God to give me my daddy back, promising Him that if He gave me back my daddy then I would never touch a never touch a knife again._

_I remembered the day he found out I had learned to throw knives, he had looked… proud, like he didn't care if I was a girl, or what my mother thought about the risks. He was so happy at my first performance, he loved it, he loved what killed him._

"_You want a new life kid?"_

_I jerked up at the voice, leaping to my feet, staring at the scariest boy I had ever seen. He was two head taller than me, tattoos littered his arms, and piercing all over his face._

"_W- What?" I asked weakly._

_He stepped closer to me, "Do you want a new life?"_

_I looked around me, the men I knew must be dead, their blood on my hands, my neck, my face. I had never fought for real, I had never killed before now. I didn't run away looking for a new life, I was trying to get back my old one, but looking down at their bodies, I came to a sudden realization. That would not happen._

_I looked up at the older teenager, "Yes."_

_He extended his hand, "I'm Tripp."_

"_I'm Brantley."_

"So, I started living on the streets, and I was good at it." I said, "Cause I wasn't a rat, I never told on anyone, unless they were…"

"Doing something you couldn't excuse." He said, nodding. "I understand the feeling."

I didn't contradict him there, knowing he would probably spew off a list of what it was like, and get it right on the money. "Tripp taught me everything he knew, and I learned fast."

There was silence, until he stood straight up again, and walked to the door, "Be right back."

He left the room, and I went right back to staring a the one way mirror.

**WITH HAWKEYE:**

"She's perfect!" Clint said, walking into the room where Fury, Agent Hill, and Natasha were standing.

Fury shook his head, "She's unstable, got an obvious criminal record, and a bit… well, she's got a lot of baggage, but if you think you can deal with that, fine, on one condition."

"Name it."

"Therapy." Nick demanded.

"… For me or for her, cause if it's for me, I'm cool with kicking her off the helicarrier."

Fury glared at him, "For her, obviously. Tyson, Clyde, and Jade are all in therapy to deal with any baggage from being abducted by those terrorists. Adding her to the mix seems like a good idea, I don't want her having some kind of break down."

Clint nodded, "Yeah, whatever, so we're good with it?"

"You have authorization." Fury said, "I'll have to tell the council, but there's really nothing they can do, probably won't care."

Fury and Agent Hill left, and Hawkeye dropped the façade he had been putting up, collapsing against the wall, burying his head in his hands.

Natasha was instantly at his side, "Clint! What's wrong?"

Clint took a deep, shaky breath, "Natasha, I've gotta tell you something."

WITH BRANTLEY:

The door opened, and Hawkeye strode back in, walking up to me. "You said you were a fast learner with Tripp, right? Well, how would you like to learn something else? Something that you could do without being arrested. Something that'll wipe your record clean, and make you a hero."

I looked up at him, and raised an eyebrow in response. He continued, "Every Avenger but me has taken on a ward of sorts recently. They're making a new team, because, honestly, we're getting older."

"And why haven't you?" I asked.

"Never met someone who fit the bill, until now." He said. "What do you say?"

I paused, "Let me get this straight, you're asking me, to learn to be… you?"

"Once in a life time opportunity." He said, as if I needed tempting.

"One condition." I said.

"Yeah, our boss has a condition too, but let's here your's first." He said.

"No calling me kid, sport, short stuff, or slick, okay?" I asked.

"No problem." He said, holding out his hand for me to shake.

I took it, "What your boss's condition?"

"You have to go to therapy."

I nearly broke his hand. "... Fine, but there's just one person i need to tell first."

"Tripp?" He asked.

"Naw, he'll just try and talk me out of leaving, remember those borthers I told you about?"

**THAT TOOK SOOOOO LONG!**

**This thing is twelve pages guys… and all those flashbacks? Yeah, this was hard to write, so, show your appreciation with a lot of reviews? LOL, only if you want to.**


	17. Like Toy Soldiers

**WITH BRANTLEY**

I sat on the edge of Marlo's balcony, waiting until she came out. Jason was working late, only her mom was home. It took awhile for Marlo to notice me, but when she did she hightailed it out to see me, wrapping her arms around my waist in a hug. "I missed you!"

I smiled down at her, "Missed you too."

She beamed up at me, "I really hoped you would come tonight, cause Uncle Will is coming over for dinner!"

I shrugged, "Sounds nice, but I can't stay long."

She frowned, "Why?"

"I… I have to leave for awhile." I explained, getting down on one knee so we were eye to eye. "I won't be able to see you for awhile, okay?"

She pouted, "No! I don't want you to leave."

"I don't wanna leave either." I said patiently, "But I have to. It's… training, of sorts."

"Training?" She asked.

"Yeah, they're gonna teach me a lot of stuff." I explained.

"But, what am I supposed to do without you?" She asked, starting to tear up, "I, I need you guardian angel!"

"Uh, hey!" I said, grabbing her shoulder, "Don't cry, okay? You don't need me, you've got a family. Don't ever underestimate that, you only get one."

Marlo sniffed, tears running down her face, "But, I want you too!"

I sighed, "Look Marlo, I'm not going away forever, I'll see you again, I promise."

She took a deep breath, wiping away her tears, "You promise?"

I shouldn't promise her this, I shouldn't, I just really shouldn't. I'll be gone for months at a time, sent on one dangerous mission after another. Clint's already made it clear to me that I hardly need any training, I've already had nine years of it, four if you only count being trained to fight.

I'll be running all around the globe, taking out terrorists, mob bosses, and other threats to peace in America. I'll be risking my neck on a daily basis, and I most likely won't have time for myself, let alone this little girl

This little girl, staring at me, waiting for an answer. Begging me to tell her that I'll come back every time. That I'll always be here when she needs me. I can't promise that.

"Yeah, I promise."

But I'm stupid and selfish enough to do it anyways.

She wiped away all her tears, happy and satisfied once more.

"Stay here." She said, turning back to go inside, "I'll be right back."

She ran inside, and I partly wished I could go in with her. Stay for dinner and see Will, for the first time in years. But he hates me, Jason hates me too, and so does Andy. I don't blame them, I robbed them of their father, then their mother, then their home. They're finally happy now, good jobs, nice places to live, and a new, noticeable smaller, family of their own.

I'd be a heartless monster if I walked in on that, if I tried to make even some of it my own. Tried to bum off of their happiness. Interfered with what they had. I'm not going to do that, I've cause my brothers enough heartache already.

Marlo came waddling back out, holding up a small, blue, stuffed doll, it looked handmade. It wasn't that good of a doll, it had little stubs for arms and legs, and tiny little purple buttons for eyes.

"Here." She said, handing it to me.

I carefully took it from her, "Why?"

"Because." She said, "Even guardian angels need guardians angels."

I nodded, standing up, and giving her a quick hug. "You should go to bed."

"When will I see you again?" She asked.

I shrugged, "Even I don't know that, just keep looking out the window for me."

I waited until she turned around, and then slipped off the balcony, dropping to the ground where Hawkeye was waiting.

**AT S.H.I.E.L.D:**

"We're getting a new member?" Jackson asked, walking down the hall with the whole team, "Seriously? And a girl at that! I mean, if we're gonna get a new team mate, they could at least give us one we can play cards with!"

Jade, for once, didn't respond to Jackson's sexist comments. She had overheard Black Widow and Hawkeye trying to whisper while they were talking about this new girl in the cafeteria at breakfast, and she had heard everything about the girl's past. Jade couldn't help but feel like she should immediately be this girls friend, make her feel welcome right away. After all she had been through, she could at least be her friend.

"Shut up Jackson." Tyson snapped, "This is a new team mate, and you're going to play nice."

"Hmm, play nicely? Term meaning many different things." Jackson observed, a smirk sneaking onto his face.

"Dude." Tyson said, shaking his head, "You're just… so wrong."

Tama spoke up, "Well, at least a new warrior will prove for some extra man power on the field."

Jackson snorted, "I doubt it Tama, this girl just started last night."

Cole looked at Jackson, "What's that have to do with anything?"

"Look, we've been training for three months, and this kid has been training since last night." Jackson sighed, "All I'm saying is, she better not slow us down."

Tyson shrugged, grabbing the handle of the training room, "Well, let's just hope she's a fast learner."

As soon as the door opened, each and every one of their mouths fell open, seeing a teenage girl, about three inches smaller than Jade, punch Hawkeye right in the nose.

Hawkeye stumbled back, got his footing, and then quickly returned with a series of punches and kicks, trying to land a blow on the girl, but she flipped, spun, twirled, and rolled out of the way, with clean, flawless landings that were executed with such precision you knew there was no wasted energy.

His blows eventually took their toll, and they had to wince at the obvious pain she was feeling from the punches that looked like they could break bones. After the initial shock wore off, they noticed a few S.H.I.E.L.D. agents creeping up behind the girl, in fighting stances.

Jade opened her mouth to speak up, but Tyson stopped her, "Just watch."

As the first one crept up behind the girl, she spun around, avoiding Hawkeye's blows, and scissor kicking the agent in the face. The agent fell to the ground, a knock out. The others learn from her mistake, choosing to rush at the girl instead of sneaking up on her. The girl always managed to knock them out with one blow, a punch, and kick, a head butt. She was making the agents look like rent a cops.

One by one, the other agents fell, until there was only her and Hawkeye left. The girl panted, trying to get her breath back, glaring at Hawkeye. He smirked, panting slightly himself, "Tired yet Brantley?"

The girl shook her head, and charged him, punching and kicking with a fury not even Jade had ever seen before.

"Oh, wow." Said Natasha, who had appeared quite suddenly, "Jade, we may need to up your training."

Jade nodded, looking at the girl who simply refused to go down, "Agreed."

Jackson shook his head, "Uh, forget what I said earlier, she's not going to be a liability."

Tyson snorted, "Yeah, unless she's on the other team."

Hawkeye suddenly was able to punch her, right in the face. She was stunned for a moment, so he grabbed her collar, driving his fist into her stomach, again and again. She coughed up blood, and he stopped, shoving her back, and then high kicking her chin, making her fly back a few feet, slamming into the wall.

Everyone stared as she went limp, and Jade put one hand over her mouth, afraid of what Clint had just done. Tyson put a hand over Clyde's eyes, not letting him look, while Jackson took out his phone, snapping pictures.

Clint took one look at the door, and laughed at their expressions, looking over at the girl, "You okay Brantley?"

Her hand shot up, like a zombie clawing it's way out of a grave, slowly curling into a thumbs up. She gasped out, "I'm okay… I'm okay."

"Well then, come on over here, and say hi to your new playmates." Clint said, taking off his fighting gloves.

The girl stood up slowly, nursing her rib cage, and Jade couldn't help but shiver a little, certain that Hawkeye has fractured her ribs. However, she shrugged the thoughts away, putting on a friendly smile for the girl, remembering what she had done, and what she had to live with for the rest of her life.

"Hi, Ah'm Jade, and those were some pretty cool moves ya had." Jade said, holding out her hand for Brantley to shake.

Brantley shrugged, shacking Jade's hand, "Brantley."

Clyde beamed up at the archer, "I'm Clyde! And I like your hair!"

Brantley reached up, pushing her bangs to the side with her hand, so she could see Clyde clearly, and immediately saw why he thought her hair was nice, seeing as his blonde hair made him look like he stuck a fork into a toaster. Clyde's eyes widened, getting the first look at her icy blue eyes. "Whoa."

She realized that he was awestruck with her exotic eyes, so she let her bangs go. They fell into her eyes, hiding them from the world to view. "Whatever."

Tama piped up, "I'm Tama, and I'm the princess of Asguard! I'm sure that you're very talented, for a misguardian!"

Brantley paused, before deciding she did not want to elaborate that into a compliment or and insult. After reeling for some appropriate response, she finally came up with, "Nice to meet you your highness."

It was said with a mere touch of sarcasm, that everyone one else heard, but not the white haired little girl, which was Brantley's intention. Jackson snorted, but other than that the remark was taken well by everyone, including Tama.

Tyson offered her a small smile, "Tyson, nice to meet you."

She nodded, and Jackson popped up, snapping a picture of her face, then saying, "Dang girl, he broke your nose!"

Brantley grabbed her nose, snapping it back into place in one swift movement, making all of them wince.

"Yikes. Not even a flinch." Jackson commented, "Everyone, we have another marine."

"Yeah, no." Brantley said, walking over to the far table, and grabbing a bow that looked exactly like Clint's old one, but smaller and lighter, easier for her to handle. "I'm a sniper."

"You know how to use it?" Jackson asked.

Brantley glared at him form beneath her bangs, before loading the bow and firing it before Jackson could so much as blink in surprise. The arrow sailed through the air, nicking the top of Jackson's ear before hitting the target behind him, bullseye.

Jackson looked over his shoulder, saw the target, and then looked back to the girl, intimidated by the obvious alpha dog complex she had going on. He was going to have a lot of fun with that.

"So, yer an archer too?" Jade asked, trying to be friendly.

Brantley nodded, "Archer, hand to hand combatant, acrobat, thi- uh, I mean covert operative."

Clint had drilled her before coming in, telling Brantley that her self bestowed titles like 'thief' or 'street brawler' could be easily replaced with the much more respected terms of 'covert operative' or 'infiltrator' and 'hand to hand combatant'. Desperate not to let any of there new colleagues know about her less than savory past, she used them.

"Cover Operative?" Clyde asked.

"It means she can slip into enemy territory, get information, and then get back to us, like a spy." Jade said, smiling, "Ah'm learning to do that too."

Jackson spoke up, asking what was on his mind, "So, if you just started last night, how are you already that good?"

Brantley shrugged, "I've been with S.H.I.E.L.D. since last night, but I've been training since I was six, and training to fight since I was about nine."

"Who trained you?" Tyson asked, wondering if Clint had been hiding this girl, since she displayed such skill, in his mind, Hawkeye was one of the few people who could teach someone to shoot like that.

"My grandfather, and let's end story time there." She said, effectively ending the conversation.

Jackson smirked, she might not tell him, but he'd find out every thing he wanted to know about her later, especially this grandfather of hers.

Natasha nodded at the girl, "Well, it's certainly nice that Clint's found himself a protégé, I was afraid I was going to have to snatch one up for him myself."

Brantley just looked at her, unsure how to respond to that. Was it a joke? Was Natasha angry that Clint had gotten one himself instead of let her pick it?

Natasha broke into a grin, "He's pretty hard headed, but if you ever need him to get a reality check, give me a call and I'll give him a good slap upside the head, okay?"

"Don't listen to her!" Clint protested.

Jade laughed, turning to Brantley, "They're always going back and forth with each other, it's fun to watch."

Natasha turned back to the kids, "Alright, enough socializing, who's ready for their first training session as a team?"


	18. This Team Is A Joke!

Clyde looked around nervously, Natasha and Clint had stuffed them all into a huge concrete room, telling them to 'keep on their toes', while Clint, Natasha, and as far as Clyde knew all their other mentors watched them.

Clyde swallowed, looking over at Tyson, "What do you think there gonna make us do?"

Tyson shrugged, looking around the empty room, "I have no idea."

Jade spoke up, "Maybe we're supposed ta fight each other or somethin'."

"Hey, hey, hey." Brantley objected, "That's mutiny talk."

Jade shrugged, "Sorry, just an off thought."

Jackson nodded, putting the helmet up on his suit, and looking around, "By the way, new girl? How old are you?"

"Fifteen." She said, "And my name is Brantley."

Jackson snorted, "Brantley, really?"

"Something wrong with that name?" Brantley asked, Taking a few steps towards Jackson. Jackson froze, suddenly very aware that this girls 'alpha dog' complex, wasn't some front, she was more than willing to clean the floor with him right now.

"Nothing at all." Jackson said, not pleased at all that a girl was trying to intimidate him. "On a completely unrelated topic, like my guns?"

Immediately, several guns and canons popped out of his armor, pointing at Brantley. She raised an eyebrow, "Shiny, do you even know what all of those do?"

"Not a clue, but I'm sure every single one is very painful." He assured.

Brantley held up a normal arrow, shoving the point towards Jackson's face, "So do these."

Fury's voice sounded over the loudspeaker, "Enough of this."

"Well it's about time." Tama noted, leaning against her axe. How she could even lift that thing was beyond them.

"This is our elite training room." Fury continued. "It's equipped with state of the art weaponry and- Stark! Evans! Put both of your weapons away!"

Jackson retracted his guns, while Brantley tossed her arrow back into her quiver.

"As I was saying, it's equipped with state of the art weaponry, but considering you all just started, and it's your first mission as a team, we've got it on a low setting." Nick explained.

Clyde looked around, seeing nothing but walls, "Weapons?"

"Uh oh." Brantley said, eyes widening.

"What?" Tyson asked.

"You'll see." She said, grabbing her bow and loading an arrow.

"Prepare yourselves." Nick continued, "This exercise will determine if any of you are ready to go out into the field."

Jade grabbed one gun, standing so her and Brantley were back to back. Tama lifted her axe, eyes scanning the room. Jackson turned on his scanner, and he gave a low whistled, "Wow, my dad sure does make sure S.H.I.E.L.D. has the best weapons."

Brantley's eyes shot towards him, "What?"

"There's-"

Suddenly, the floor shook, and a huge block of metal shot up between the team, leaving Brantley and Jade on one side, and the rest of the team on the other side. Brantley glared at the wall, "Crap."

"What do we do?" Jade asked, her mind going blank.

Brantley looked over her shoulder at Jade, "You do this much?"

"First time."

"Well, you're in for a ride." Brantley said, "It's a battle strategy older than the pyramids, divide and conquer."

"Conquer?" Jade asked, "But there's nothing here-"

The walls shifted, panels pulling away, revealing machine guns.

Brantley immediately loosed her arrow, and it sailed through the air, hitting one of the machine guns, blowing it up. Before she could get out another arrow, the guns started firing, and she took off, ducking and diving under the array of bullets, until she realized something.

"They're paint balls!" Brantley shouted to Jade.

Jade nodded, ducking under a gun, and then taking out a grenade, shoving it into the wall behind her, and running off, ducking behind Brantley as it blew up. Brantley glanced down at her, "What am I, your shield?"

Jade shrugged, standing up and her and Brantley kept dodging the fire. "Don't get me wrong." Brantley grunted, flipping into the air, and landing easily. "We're just starting out, they wanna go easy on us. But paintballs? Really? Not eve BB bullets? Insulting." She broke off, rolling out of the way and the springing into the air, "Jade! Stay in the air as much as possible! They'll never get a clear shot!"

"Got it!" She screamed back, flipping into the air as well, firing her shots from up there, "Problem is, neither can Ah!"

"Then just stand there and look pretty!" Brantley screamed at her, "I got this."

She loaded two arrows, before landing, and taking a deep breath, firing at the last two guns. They exploded.

"Ow!" Jade shouted, grabbing her arm.

Brantley looked over at her, "What?"

Jade looked up at her, grinning like a fool, "Ah got hit."

"So?" Brantley asked, "It's a paint ball."

"Yeah but, are we supposed to act like it's a real bullet?" Jade asked.

Brantley paused, scratching her chin, "Eh, why not? No harm in it."

She walked over to Jade, scraping the blue blob of paint off of her arm, before taking a roll of bandages out of her pocket, wrapping it around the area the bullet wound would have been. "That good enough?"

"Yeah." Jade said, "Yer pretty good at that."

"Done it to myself enough to know how." Brantley explained, looking around the now empty room, "How do you think the boys are doing?"

Jade smiled, "Jackson's with 'em, his dad _made _all this stuff. Ah think they'll be fine."

"What's this brat's deal anyways?" Brantley asked.

Jade shrugged, "Ah think he wasn't hugged enough as a child, that's mah theory."

Brantley smirked, "Must be it."

Jade looked around the room quickly, "We made a pretty good team, huh?"

"… Yeah." Brantley agreed.

Jade raised an eyebrow at her, "Something wrong?"

"I don't like this." She said, frowning.

Jade raised an eyebrow, "Hey, don't get me wrong, Ah'm not a huge fan of paintballs either, but-"

"No!" Brantley snapped, "Not the paintballs, the situation."

"You mean the wall between us and the boys?"

Brantley nodded, "If this is supposed to be a mission trial, then we've gotta get back with the team."

**WITH THE BOYS:**

Clyde shrieked as the paintballs flew around, and he ducked behind Tyson. He had always though if he got engaged into a fight, the boxing Captain America had taught him would come in handy. He had never considered guns. But now, hiding behind Tyson, he realized something. He knew absolutely nothing about fighting.

Tyson shot both of his arms up with flames, whirling around, trying to burn the guns into puddles of metal. Paintballs stung his legs and chest, none getting his arms though. Tama flew into the air, bringing her axe down, cutting a gun in half.

Jackson flew into the air with her, firing shots at the machine guns, paint balls striking his suit. After several minutes the guns were out of commission, and they stared at each other, all of them littered with blue paint blobs, in their hair, one the arms and legs, it honestly looked like they were just running through a sprinkler filled with blue paint. Jackson and Tama floated to the ground, everyone just staring at each other for a moment.

Jackson finally piped up, "That went well."

**WITH THE AVENGERS:**

Tony chuckled, and Steve rolled his eyes, "Tony, are you sure you didn't just clone this kid?"

Tony shook his head, "I wish I could take all the credit, but Pepper get's eleven percent of it."

Clint and Natasha weren't even watching Tama and the boys, their eyes were on Brantley and Jade. Brantley was scaling the wall, using the corner to brace her feet and hands against, shimmying up, while Jade stayed at the bottom, keeping watching, making sure no more guns popped out.

Brantley got to the ceiling, and shoved an arrow into the vent, then dropping down, covering her head and Jade did the same. The vent blew up, and the vent covering fell to the ground.

Brantley immediately scurried up the wall again like a squirrel on a telephone pole, causing Bruce to remark, "How many laws of physics is she able to break?"

Clint shrugged, "Let's count."

Natasha smirked, "Count to ten with me."

Tony rolled his eyes, "Alright Dora and Diego, spill. A kid doesn't learn that over night, which is all the time you've had her for. Where'd she learn that?"

Clint shrugged, "I honestly don't know."

Steve paused, "You're kidding?"

"Nope." Clint had noticed the way Brantley had explained her skills to the team, told them it was hard to learn, took years to master, but completely dodged the questions about who had taught her and where she learned. If she didn't want her team learning about it, he wouldn't tell his team. Mostly because Tony had no filter on his mouth, and he'd tell his son, who was a carbon copy of his dad, and would tell everyone on his team. Ending result is, Brantley would try to blow him up.

Natasha gave Clint a knowing look, which he ignored.

**WITH BRANTLEY AND JADE:**

Brantley smirked down at Jade from the vent, offering her a hand up, "What's wrong? Can't climb up?"

Jade rolled her eyes, grabbing Brantley's hand, "Hey, do ya think we'll have ta give different names?"

Brantley tugged her up, and then crawled down the vent, "What?"

"Ya know, how Clint is Hawkeye, Natasha is Black Widow, Tony is Iron man, Steve is Captain America, Thos is… uh, Thor, and Bruce is Hulk." She explained.

"You really want to talk now?" Brantley asked.

"Why not?"

"Fine, what's your idea for your code name?" Brantley asked, rolling her eyes as they crawled along the shaft.

She thought for a moment, "Gunpoint."

"Cool." Brantley commented.

"And your's?"

"I'll think about it." She waved off.

Brantley stopped, peering out of another vent covering, seeing four figures, and quickly backed up a little, bumping into Jade, and then slamming her boot into the covering. It flew off, and Brantley dropped down, landing right beside Clyde.

Clyde freaked out, the loud noise and the sudden appearance of Brantley next to him made him scream at the top of his lungs, like a little girl, before stumbling back and landing on his back. Jade dropped down next, careful not to land on Brantley, and laughed, "Come on Clyde, it's just us."

Clyde stood up, shaking a little, "Uh, yeah, I knew that."

**WITH THE AVENGERS:**

Nick Fury turned to Steve, glaring at him, "You've really been training him well, haven't you?"

Steve stared at the ground, trying not to look at Fury. He had planned to train Clyde, he really had, but every time he looked at the kid, he couldn't bring himself to do it. Clyde was a little boy, a little boy that he was supposed to drag into war.

Steve was a grown man when he enlisted, and that still didn't stop the emotionally scaring memories of fighting, fallen comrades, and dead friends.

"Sorry." He managed to mumble.

Nick sighed, "We'll talk about it later Captain."

Tony piped up, "Well, seems they handed that well."

Bruce raised an eyebrow, "Tyson, Jackson, Tama, and Clyde got hit with substitute bullets so many times, if this were real, they'd be dead. Jade got hit once, Brantley was the only one who didn't."

Nick Fury rubbed his eye with his hand, looking very tired. "The only one who I would ever even consider putting out onto that field is Evans."

Thor raised an eyebrow, "Evans?"

"Brantley Evans." Clint answered.

"Why does everyone here have two names?" He asked, talking to himself more than anyone else in the room.

Clint turned to Fury, "You gonna recommend Brantley to the council for S.H.I.E.L.D. membership?"

"Technically speaking, I don't have to." Fury said. "I run this organization, they just overlook everything."

"So, do you accept her?" Clint asked.

Fury frowned, "I'd like to see more skill stats before making that decision."

Clint stepped forward to the control panel, pressing a few buttons, "Okay, watch her."

**WITH THE KIDS:**

Brantley looked everyone over, "Man, you guys really suck at this don't you?"

Everyone looked at her, until they understood. She hadn't been hit once, they were covered in blue. Jackson rolled his eyes, "Oh come on, it's our first training exercise."

"Your suit didn't help you out that much then." She pointed out.

Jackson's face turned red under his helmet, "Shut up kid."

"Whatever you say Iron Boy." She shrugged off.

Jackson sputtered, "What did you just- That's not my name!"

"Seems appropriate." She waved off.

"Who are you to come in here and say that to me?" Jackson asked, stepping closer to her, hands balled into fists.

"Judging from the color all over you, your superior." She said, crossing her arms and glaring down at him.

"Now just a minute-"

A loud grinding sound cut him off, as the wall that had once separated them started to open, pulling apart to reveal something that hadn't been in that room when Jade and Brantley had been in there. Twelve feet tall, metal, and lots of firepower.

"Oh. My. God." Tyson whispered.

Something straight out of a comic book. Robot.

It took a huge step forward, and Brantley yanked out an arrow, shooting it at it's head, it exploded, but didn't even faze the hunk of metal. An arm reached out, guns protruding form it, and firing at the kids.

Brantley rolled towards the robot, jumping in between it's feet. "Scatter!" She screamed over her shoulder. It didn't have enough guns for all of them, keep running around, it wouldn't get a clear shot.

Jackson and Tama took off into the air immediately, and Tyson and Jade ran as fast as they could. Shots missed them, hitting the ground, leaving blue splotches of paint. Paint balls.

The robot lifted another foot, getting ready to take another step forward, and Brantley jumped onto it, slamming an exploding arrow in-between two plates of metal. She heard jade scream out, and looked up, seeing why. Clyde hadn't ran, and the robot was about to step on him.

"Come on Clyde run." She muttered as the foot she was perched on started to come down. Clyde wasn't moving, he was frozen with fear.

Brantley jump off, body tackling Clyde to the ground, and then wrapped her arms around him tightly, rolling to the side with him. Her elbows slammed into the ground as she rolled, getting scraped up. She stopped rolling once they were clear of the foot, jumping up and shaking Clyde, trying to get him to move.

When he wouldn't budge, and the robot held up it's hand, to shoot the paint balls at them, Brantley slung the boy over her shoulder, and ran with him. Jade held up her gun, shooting at the robot, but it had no effect. The arrow Brantley had shoved into it's foot exploded, but the robot wasn't even fazed. Tama flew next to it's head, hitting it in the chest with her axe, but even that did little more than make a dent.

Brantley cursed, pulling Clyde around in her arms, and started to spin with him, "Jackson!"

Jackson looked down at her, just in time to see her fling Clyde his way. He grabbed Clyde, hovering back a few feet. "What Brantley!?"

"Keep Clyde in the air, wait here until I call you!" She screamed.

Brantley took off to where Jade and Tyson were standing side by side, shooting bullets and fire at the robot, "You guys keep him busy, don't let him get a clear shot, and keep moving." She ordered.

Tyson looked at her, "What are you going to do?"

"I'll think of something." She said, "Make sure Tama knows."

Brantley took off again, Tyson and Jade covering her escape with bullets and fire. Tyson aimed a fire ball bigger than any other her had thrown yet, hurling it towards the robot, but it was to big, he couldn't control it. It veered to the side, right onto Brantley's arm. She screamed, falling to the ground, slapping her arms to put out the fire.

Jade gasped, running over to Brantley, grabbing her shoulder, "Brantley!?"

Brantley looked up at her, then he eyes went huge, and she grabbed Jade's shoulder, slamming her onto the ground, as the robot's arm reached down, snatching up Brantley, he had been going for Jade. The robot lifted Brantley into the air, holding her there, it's grip tightening. She wiggled around in it's grip, getting her arms free.

"Jackson!"

Jackson flew right next to her, still holding Clyde, "This kid is heavy Brant!"

"Did you're Dad design this robot?" She screamed.

Jackson looked him over, "No, this is nothing like what my Dad's designing."

"Then look for something!" She ordered, trying to pull her bow out from between her back and the robot's hand.

"For what?" He asked, a bit at loss for what to do. He felt he should pull Brantley out of the robot's grip, but he was holding Clyde, who was starting to fidget a bit. Even if he only shot at the robot and got it to drop her, he couldn't catch her before she hit the ground, and Tama was off slamming her axe into the metal chest of the robot, trying to destroy it, she wouldn't catch her if she fell. Plus, all this girl seemed to want him to do was talk to her.

"A weakness, if your last name is Stark," She grunted, managing to pull out her bow, "Then tell me where to hit it that'll make a difference!"

Jackson looked over the robot quickly, trying to avoid fire in the air and failing miserably. "If it bent it's neck to the side, and you fired into the opening in it's neck, it's got a hinge joint!"

"Which will stop it?"

"Yes!" Jackson said, "But I don't know how to get it to do that!"

She gave him a look, yanking out an arrow, "Fly in front of it, then to it's other side, so it'll turn it's head to look at you, Neanderthal!"

Jackson gripped Clyde tighter, glaring at her, "I'm not a-"

"JUST DO IT, I WANNA LIVE!" She shouted, and Jackson flew to the right, right in front of the robot's face, making the robot turn it's head to stare at him.

Brantley aimed carefully, shooting the arrow into the robot's neck. It exploded, and for a moment, the robot just stood still, then it's grip loosened, and Brantley wiggled out, running up to it's shoulder, and gave the head a hard shove, sending it rolling off the shoulders, and onto the ground.

The body of the robot shuddered for a moment, and Brantley dropped to the ground, "Timber!"

The robot staggered, falling down, as it fell, the shoulder clipped Jackson, and he spiraled, loosing control. Clyde slipped out of his hands, and Brantley leapt forward, throwing herself under him as he hit the ground, cushioning his fall.

She groaned as she sat up, making Clyde stand with her as she calmly walked away as the robot hit the ground behind her, a loud crash sounding.

One by one, the team filed into the middle of the room, staring up at the booth. Tyson looked over at Brantley, "Uh, is your arm okay?"

Brantley grit her teeth, "No, the horrible burning sensation that's escalating because Clyde won't stop squeezing my arm is totally not important."

Clyde immediately released Brantley's arm, "Sorry!"

Brantley sighed, "It's okay Clyde, seriously, It's probably not that bad of a burn, I mean, I put the fire out almost immediately."

She inspected her wound, frowning, "Tyson." She ground out, glaring over at him.

"What?"

"You burned off my tattoo!" Brantley accused, pointing down at the burn mark.

Jade raised an eyebrow, "You have a tattoo?"

"I did." Brantley growled, "Until he burned it off."

Tama raised an eyebrow, "What is a tattoo?"

"Something Tyson is paying for." Brantley snapped.

Another wall opened up, and to say every one of the teenagers snapped to attention was an understatement. Arrows, guns, fire, axes, and fists were pointed towards the wall as it opened up, and the Avengers and Nick Fury walked out.

His eyes scanned over the group, before he just shook his head, "Agent Evans, Gunpoint, good job. The rest of you, pathetic."

Jade smiled, "Wow, that name's taken on quick."

Tyson shrugged, "Congratulations girls."

Jackson sighed, "Well, considering that was our first team exercise."

Brantley shot straight up, her glare turning to Jackson, "_Team _exercise? Are you _kidding _me!?"

Jackson nearly took a step back form how serious ticked this girl was, "What?"

"That wasn't a team exercise!" Brantley snapped, "That, that was me! Me saving Clyde and Jade's lives, getting caught in friendly fire by a pyrotechnic, and then having to tell you to do your job, then all of us, watching Tama fly around like Tinker Bell, acting like she isn't on a team and trying to fight the robot on her own! That's what just went down!"

Jackson growled, stepping towards her, "Hey,. Give us a break! Were rookies, and that was our first time working on a team-"

"Mine too." She said, crossing her arms at Jackson. "I just got here last night."

Nick stepped between them, "Alright, enough. Agent Evans is correct, which is why I'm presenting her to the council for immediate S.H.I.E.L.D. membership."

Jackson sputtered, "What!? We've all been here for-"

"Not long enough to compete with me." Brantley said breaking him off. "Thanks Fury."

"Don't thank me." Fury retorted, "Thank your overconfident mentor for cranking it up to a level to high for rookies to deal with to make you look good."

Brantley turned to Clint, smirking and giving him a thumbs up, before turning back to Fury, "So, if this council says yes, I go right into S.H.I.E.L.D.? None of this team joke, just me on missions?"

She felt the eyes of her 'team' glaring at her, but she honestly didn't care.

Jackson had just about had enough. "Hey, you got a problem with this team? Then why are you even here!?"

Brantley's eyes didn't even leave Nick Fury, "I have no problem being on a team, what happened in here was me babysitting civilians."

Nick nodded, "You'll go right into S.H.I.E.L.D. Special Units Division, until the team comes to be, then you'll be put into that particular area of S.H.I.E.L.D. the team is in. Until then, enjoy each others company."

He walked away, probably to talk to the council about Brantley, or as he would refer to her as, Agent Evans.

Clint walked over to Brantley, "Let's get the burn taken care of Ace."

He put a hand on her shoulder to guide her to the infirmary, and she glared at him, "Don't call me that."

"Well then I suggest you pick your codename quickly," He advised, "Otherwise that name, or one even worse _will _become what everyone calls you. Trust me, do you think I picked my name?"

Brantley rolled her eyes, "I'll think about the name."

**Before anyone starts giving me grief about how long it's taken, or how it's not that great of an ending to the chapter, this thing is 12 pages long! And if anyone's interested, I have pictures of them all, on photo bucket. Link is on my profile.**


	19. It's A Long Shot

Brantley wasn't hard to find, Clint had introduced her to her room and the recreation area earlier, it only made since that this is what she would be doing.

Fury had never gotten around to removing the stacks of crated from around the walls, and Brantley had climbed up onto the highest one, seating herself there, just behind the top crate, so if someone entered the room, they couldn't see her unless they walked past the little table and chairs set up in the center. She was huddled behind there, fiddling with, surprisingly, knives.

Jade had expected, at the very least, she would be holed up in her room, messing with her arrows. Jade didn't even know her team's archer had knives. "Brantley?"

Brantley gave her a sideways glance, "What?"

"Is it okay if Ah come up there with ya?" Jade asked quietly.

Brantley shrugged, "If you can make it to the top."

Jade didn't understand at first, but once she started climbing, she figured it out. These crates were rotten, old, and some even had a little fungus growing on the edges. Jade wasn't sure she could lay a finger on most of them without them toppling over.

Jade caught Brantley giving her another glance, and that's when Jade understood. Brantley had picked this particular stack out because there was only one way to get up, and it would take awhile to figure out how to get up safely. How had Brantley done it? It had been several hours since the joke of a training session, is that really all she had been doing?

After stepping back and taking a good look, Jade came to a conclusion, Brantley couldn't have climbed up, only the crates at the very top were capable of sustaining human weight. Brantley must have scaled the wall, like how she did in the first part of their session.

Jade sighed, "Look, Ah can't climb up the wall, okay?"

"Then I guess you _can't _come up." Brantley said. She wasn't being smug, or saying Jade wasn't skilled, she was just stating a fact. It was a bit troublesome how empty her voice was.

Jade paused for a moment, "Ya know, Ah've always been great at reading people, like _you _read a book."

"Mhm." Brantley said, not really paying attention, she was inspecting another knife, tossing it around in her hands.

"Yer up there, hiding because ya don't wanna talk to anyone, or at least don't want anyone to see you."

"Wrong." Brantley said, "I'm up here, because I see people, everything, better from a distance."

"Okay, Ah was wrong about that one." Jade mused. "How about a little game? If Ah get one thing right about you, you have to come down one crate, Ah get one wrong, Ah have to take a step to the door."

Brantley paused, "Alright."

"Ya like to keep yerself busy, cause if yer not doin' somethin ya feel like yer wasting time, or maybe yer potential." Jade guessed.

Brantley looked at her, a bit shocked, before stepping down onto the crate below her. Jade smiled, "Alright, ya like knives better than arrows."

Brantley stepped down again. There were twelve layers or crates, and Jade was confident she would get Brantley down far enough.

"Ya don't like Jackson, at all." Jade said.

"That doesn't count." Brantley objected, "Everyone who saw us in the simulation knows that."

"Rules say nothin' about that." Jade said, "But okay, Ah'll stick to just reading you."

Jade gave Brantley a once over, "Ya roll up yer pant cuffs a few inches 'cause if ya don't, ya feel like you don't have enough room fer movement."

Brantley hopped down another crate, only nine more to go, but Jade was certain it wouldn't take that much.

"Ya keep yer hair in yer eyes because you don't want the world to see you, not how you see it at least."

"Wrong." Brantley said, "And the reason why I do it isn't any of your business."

Jade nodded, taking a step towards the door, "Fair enough. You feel bad about the things you said to us all."

Brantley bit her tongue, stepping down another crate.

"You want to apologize, but you don't know how to do that without coming off as either weak, or even more of a jerk."

Brantley stepped down another crate, and it groaned under her weight, but didn't break.

"Clint bandaged up that wound himself, even though there were several trained medics who could have done it." Jade said, nodding to Brantley's arm. The bandages were a little sloppy compared to a trained medic.

Brantley took another step down, seven left.

"Clint didn't teach ya anything, you learned all yer skills somewhere else." The last one was cheat, considering what Jade had overheard about the girl that morning, she knew Brantley had learned all her skills at the circus, and on the streets.

Brantley took another step down. That's when Jade saw the pattern.

"We don't have to play anymore." Jade said, "Ah know how to climb up."

Brantley immediately scurried back up to her position on top of the crates, and jade climbed up after her. After seeing how Brantley was going to climb down, she had figured out the path to get up.

Jade was silent for awhile, just watching Brantley fiddle with knives, until she broke the silence, "Ya know, you were great in there, fightin' that robot, and-"

"Are you just here to yak at me about how I treated the team?" Brantley snapped, "Because I've already heard it From Fury, Hill, Clint, _and _some loser who was playing Galaga."

Jade sighed, "Ah'm not here ta yell at ya, Ah don't have the authority for one, and after seeing you fight, Ah really just don't have the guts. Add to that the fact that Ah don't really care, and that you were right."

Brantley sighed, "No, I wasn't right."

Jade shrugged, "Yer the best on the team, it's okay to get frustrated if we can't keep up."

Brantley just shook her head, "It's just… I had to run around, saving everyone else's lives, got hit by my own teammate, drag Clyde around like a manikin, and had to tell Jackson what to do."

"Ah know." Jade said.

"They told me I was going to be on a team that replaces the Avengers." Brantley said, "I just, I expected they would all be at my level, or even higher. I just don't, I don't wanna have to, I mean, when this team thing starts up for real, I don't wanna have to run around taking everyone's punches like I did today." Brantley rubbed her forehead, "I mean, I shouldn't have expected you all would be at my level. It's hard for me to think that no one else grew up the way I did. I was forced to learn this stuff, it was imperative for survival. Call me heartless for saying this, but I don't wanna be weighed down by my team." She stressed, "Don't get me wrong, I'd never leave a man behind, but at the same time, I don't wanna have to drag all of you guys out of a war zone after fighting the whole battle by myself."

Jade nodded, "Ah guess we'll just have to work on it then." She put a hand on Brantley shoulder, "And hey there big shot, you might be an official S.H.I.E.L.D. agent by the end of the day! You'd be going on actual missions, by yourself."

Brantley shoot her head, "They never let a rookie go in for a mission by themselves, I'd have to go with Clint for a few, and once he gives the okay, I can act solo."

Jade shrugged, "Still, that's more progress than we're making."

There was silence for awhile, until Jade broke it again. "Thought about your codename yet?"

"Actually, yeah." Brantley said, "Longshot."

Jade paused, "Longshot?"

"What's wrong with the name?" Brantley asked.

"Nothing." Jade waved off, "It's cool."

**WITH NATASHA AND CLINT:**

"She's really good you know." Natasha said, watching Clint fire off arrows to the target on the other side of the room. "Best rookie I've ever seen. It won't come as a surprise to anyone that you picked her."

Clint snorted, firing another arrow, "Whatever."

"She's ready to be going on missions." Natasha continued. "And Jade isn't that far behind her, it'll be like a mini me and you, except, they'll both be girls."

"So?" Clint asked, honestly just wishing Natasha would leave. She was a good friend, but he hated that she was the only person who could see through his mask.

"So why aren't you happy about that?" She asked. "Your student is the one moving past the others. You should be happy, or at least proud."

Clint paused for a moment, "I am."

"Sure aren't acting like it." Her eyes bore into him, searching for what he was hiding.

He sighed, "She just… she just got here."

"And?"

"She might be book smart, okay!?" Clint snapped, "She might know what to do but, she's never don't it! Sure, she knows what to do if an insane cultist leader is bent on destroying America, but she's never done it before."

Natasha rolled her eyes, "That's why you're going with her, remember?"

"Yeah but, we could get separated, or I could got shot, and then she's on her own, and she's gotta do it herself, and she'll mess up, I know she'll mess up!" Clint said, and Natasha saw a little panic in his eyes.

"Then don't get shot, and don't get separated." Natasha advised.

Clint sighed. "That's a long shot.

"Good thing you've got great aim."


	20. Morning After

"How many are there?" Clint's voice asked over the link.

I was perched on top of an eighteen story building, looking over at a penthouse suite, one wall was entirely glass, so it was easy to see the men inside. They ran a human trafficking business, selling children to whoever wanted to buy them. That's what we were here to stop.

"Eight, five are body guards, three are the dealers." I said.

"Now, you know what we're supposed to do, right?" His voice asked over the com link again.

"Yes, take down body guards any way necessary, but I have to take the three dealers in alive. You're going to head down into the sublevels and get out the kids while all the other guards in the building are rushing to take me down when I start my distraction." I recited.

"And you're sure you can do it?"

"I can kill the body guards right now Hawkeye." I said, "These dealers are ridiculously obese old men that couldn't run ten feet without sounding like Darth Vader."

"Fine, start the distraction." He ordered.

I loaded three arrows, exploding arrows, and drew the string back, firing them. They hit the glass, exploding. I quickly fired a grappling hook arrow, swinging into the room. Alarms were going off and the men and body guards were rushing around. The body guards saw me, taking out guns and holding hem at the ready, "Freeze, and put your hands in the air, or we will shoot!"

"Don't act like a cop." I snapped, slapping a gas mask onto my face, and then jumping into the air, firing knock out gas arrows into their faces. Staying in the air as much as possible, they couldn't get a clear shot at me, and the gas started to take effect.

A few punches, some dodging, and they were all out like lights.

The door burst open, and dozens of guards came running in. "This is gonna be a long night…"

**THE NEXT DAY, BREAKFAST:**

Jade smirked, sitting down nest to a person she assumed was Brantley. It was hard to tell, she was face down at the table, snoring. "Brantley?"

She didn't respond. Jackson sat down next to Jade, for once, he wasn't wearing his iron man suit, he had on a navy blue hoodie and denim skinny jeans, topped off with red converse. "What's wrong with her?"

"She went on a mission last night with Hawkeye." Jade said. "She must be wore out."

Jackson paused, "Really?"

Tyson and Clyde walked up, each with a lunch tray sporting various breakfast foods. Clyde's was mostly waffles with strawberry syrup, while Tyson's was a bagel cut in half and stuffed with sausage and bacon.

"What's wrong with archer girl?" Tyson asked.

Jade rolled her eyes, "She has a name you know."

"Yeah, Girl-Who-Nags-A-Lot." Tyson brushed off.

Jade glared at him, "You hit her with a fireball, and burned off her tattoo."

"So?" Tyson asked, "She shouldn't even have a tattoo! She's a kid!"

"Hey, just because you're eighteen doesn't mean you can call her a kid, she's fifteen for the love of God!" Jade contradicted.

Jackson spoke up, "So, you're absolutely sure that Evans here is thoroughly exhausted?"

Jade nodded, "Without a doubt, why-"

Jackson immediately took out his phone and hastily pressed a few buttons, then shoving it right next to Brantley ear. Immediately his phone let out an ear splitting noise. _**"WE-WILL-NEVER-SLEEP-CAUSE-SLEEP-IS-FOR-THE-WEAK! WE-WILL-NEVER-REST-TILL-WE'RE-ALL-FREAKING-DEAD!"**_

Brantley shot straight up, covering her ears and yelping. She looked around wildly, just to see Jackson sitting next to her, looking smug.

Jackson didn't see the right hook coming, he just knew that for some reason, he was suddenly on the floor, and his face _really _hurt.

A few agents who were also in the cafeteria laughed, and Jackson's cheeks got red. He glared up at Brantley, "Ugh, you little-"

"Shut up Stark you little brat!" She snapped. "I was fighting off dime store thugs who can't shoot worth a nickel, but for some reason really pack a punch, for two straight hours last night! What the hell were you doing last night!?"

"Um, playing Call of Duty Black Ops?"

Jade laughed as Brantley laid her head back down on the table, and Jackson scrambled back up into his chair. Tyson snickered at Jackson, who glared right back, "I let her do that. It's only polite, she's a girl."

"No, she's a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent." Said a voice behind them. They all looked over their shoulders, to see General Fury standing there, arms crossed behind his back. His gaze drifted to Brantley, "The council was impressed, most agents call in back up for their first night. Three gun shot wounds and you kept going." He paused, as if not really willing to admit something, "That… is impressive."

Jackson glared, "Why is she the only one who gets to go on missions?"

Fury glared right back at him, "Because she's the only one who doesn't get hit with _paint ball guns_, Stark."

Tyson shrugged, "Man's got a point."

"Shut up heat freak." Jackson snapped.

Fury continued, "They're so impressed, they've already put you up for another mission. This one is covert, no fighting is predicted to happen, it's more of an investigation than a field mission. The council wants to see what other area's you're qualified for." He slapped a folder on the desk. "Your flight is in two hours. Good luck Agent Evans."

She called after Fury, "Is Clint coming with me?"

He didn't even pause in his step, "No, the council wants to see you solo. And if I were you I'd consider that a compliment."

Brantley stared at the folder, before taking it, flipping through it randomly.

"Wait, you got hit last night?" Jade asked.

"Three times." Brantley said, waving off the obvious concern as if the bullet wounds were nothing.

Clyde perked up, "Can I see your stitches?"

Brantley nodded, shrugging out of her red hoodie, and unraveling the gauze wrap around her upper arm, letting Clyde see the three red and black marks dotting her triceps.

"Whoa." Clyde said, "Ya know, I can heal those up for you if you want-"

"No." Tyson snapped at Clyde. "No more giving out free healing."

"I agree." Brantley said, "Besides, I've had much worse."

Tyson nodded, "Yeah, sorry about setting you on fire the yesterday."

"Forget about it." She waved off, "Never happened."

Jackson tried to lean over her shoulder, "So what's the mission?"

She flipped the folder shut, "Classified."

Jackson frowned, he was tired of this secretive girl, he had tried to hack into Fury's computer last night, however there was nearly nothing on this girl. It had only the basic things like height, weight, date of birth, name, and one brief record of her skills. That last one, to Jackson's surprise, was written by Clint himself. But that was all. Nothing more. He had then tried to hack into Jade's file, to make sure Fury didn't do that to every agent's file so Jackson wouldn't know. Delete all the personal virtual information, and keep the more detailed records in old fashioned filing cabinets. Turns out, he didn't. Brantley's was the only one like that.

Jackson knew better than to accept that as the truth. You can't have skills and scars like hers and have a record as blank and boring as that. "Classified from your own team?"

Her response was simple and truthful, "Not my team. Not yet."

Jackson snorted, "Look, if you have some sort of problem with being on a team with us-"

"I have no problem with being on a team with you." Brantley shook off. "But classified means classified."

She opened the file again, scanning over the summary, "Says here I can bring one of you along with me, if I want."

Everyone looked at her, expectantly. She bit her tongue lightly, she knew that the logical choice would be Jade. They worked well together, and frankly they were friends. But Brantley felt as though she should strengthen her bonds with the rest of the team.

Jackson was the one who immediately came to mind. They clearly had issues with each other, and that would be life threatening once the team Fury dreamed about became reality. Fact of the matter was, she just honestly didn't feel like being around Jackson any more than she had to.

There was always Clyde, God knows the boy needed practice, and she was more than willing to give him some real world experience, but there was also the matter that he was so inexperienced, it would be irresponsible to bring him along. Even though this was a low risk mission, she had a feeling Clyde would get killed, either by enemy fire, or the fact he'd freeze up instead or stepping out of the way of a falling building.

Tama was off in Asguard visiting relatives, and Brantley didn't really want to interrupt that. Family time was important, and Tama should get as much as she could. It's something Brantley didn't have a lot of time for.

"Tyson, you up for a homicide investigation?"


	21. Widow's Son

"Why are we here?" Tyson asked, as we jogged up the steps to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s scientific area. Squint designated, normally field agents don't come up here, they aren't exactly welcome.

So, squints are the geeks that do all the science stuff, they take a closer look at crime scenes, computer software, that's why we call them squints, cause they're always squinting at something. None of them have any hand to hand training, just like we have no forensic training.

"What's the matter?" I asked, "You afraid of the nerds?"

"No, I mean, we're field agents, why are we investigating a case? We're supposed to stop these things from happening." Tyson explained. "We don't get to clean up after we fail at that, that's the squints job."

"Yeah, well the council wants me on this, and I want you at my back." I snapped.

"Fair enough, but what's this about?" Tyson asked.

A woman stepped up to us, Porto Rican, black pencil skirt, red and grey blouse, "Because this isn't just any murder investigation, kids."

I raised my eyebrows, "And you are?"

"Cameron." She said, "I identified the remains."

"Remains?' Tyson asked.

She gestured to our right, and we looked at the table, seeing a human skull resting on it.

"It was a male, Caucasian, late teens to early twenties, and completely devoid of flesh or odor." She explained.

"You can get all that form a skull?" Tyson asked.

"Easily." she said, "The remains were found lodged into the windshield of a minivan."

I frowned, "What?"

"Based on the rectory of the fall, and the calculated wind speed and gravitational pull, we can gather that is was lodged off of an overpass, and hit the car window as it passed down." She explained. "We've taken calculations, and we were able to gather the tissue depth of his entire face, and we came up with this."

She held up a computer simulated face of a young male, didn't look familiar. He had brown hair, and blue eyes. He was cute.

"Who is it?"

"After scanning through missing persons, we found that he was the son of a US government official." She said, "His mother is the secretary of defense."

"Father?" I asked.

"Deceased, years ago." She picked up the skull gently, pointing to some deep scratches, "There are scoring patterns on the forehead, cheek bones, and around the nose."

"What's that mean?" Tyson asked, crossing his arms.

"Well, it's uniform in spacing, but not in depth, which suggests a ungle pattern." She said.

I frowned, "What's an uncle pattern?"

She frowned, "Not an uncle pattern, an ungle pattern. With a G. Pay attention."

"Sorry." I mumbled.

She sighed, turning to her left, talking to a man looking through a microscope. "How do I say this in a way that they'll understand?"

He didn't even look up, "Something chewed on the skull."

"Oh." Me and Tyson chorused.

Tyson nodded, "Like a bear, or a dog?"

"Human." She said. "We think that our victim's face was… chewed off by a cannibal."

Tyson stiffened, his face showing signed of disgust. "I think I just became a vegetarian."

"Me too." I agreed.

**LATER, IN THE REC. ROOM:**

I looked up form the case file, "Now, the assumed accident was called in by a trucker who saw the whole thing. He driver of the minivan identified the truck as the vehicle that the skull bounced off of before it hit his van."

Tyson nodded, "Okay, so we have the truck, what next?'

"According to this, the truck dumped it's contents at a landfill not far from the scene of the crime." I said, "We'll need a warrant to close the landfill down and come in for body parts."

Tyson paused, "You think a cannibal is making a habit of tossing body parts off of overpasses, into passing dump trucks?"

I shrugged, "Squints only have a skull, the rest has to be somewhere."

Tyson sighed, "Okay, I'll fill out the paperwork, but I'm _not _digging through that landfill, or touching _any _body parts."

"Fair enough." I said. My phone rang, and I picked it up, "Agent Evans." I paused, looking up at Tyson, and covering the phone with one hand, "I love saying that."

"We need you to come down to the lab." Cameron's voice said, "We found something."

"I'll be right there." I hung up, looking up at Tyson, "Squints found something, you get the paper work, I'll get down there."

"Okay." Tyson said, taking off.

**AT THE LAB:**

I frowned, looking at the X-ray of the skull. "What am I looking for?"

"It's called an ocseoma." Cam said.

The man from before looked over his shoulder at me, "Just so you know, that means it's a type of bone spur that grows from the skull down to the sinus cavity."

"Okay, what's it mean?"

"Well, an ocseoma this size can cause headaches, sinus infections." Cam shrugged, "And the boy's medical records show no sign of this."

"So, it developed recently?" I asked.

The man looked over his shoulder again, "Yeah, but if it grow that fast, it means it would hurt a lot worse, and he never sought after any medical help."

"So… e just played through the pain?" I questioned.

"Either that, or he sought help that wasn't medical." She said. "Such as witch doctors."

I gave her a look, "I'm gonna go with played through the pain."

"Interesting conclusion." The man said, turning around in his seat fully, "Defend."

"Well, the records show that he was a football player." I said, "He was probably used to a lot worse."

They looked at each other, then back to me, Cam nodded, "Alright."

I feel like that was some kind of test. My phone rang again, "Agent Evans."

"Yeah, it's Tyson." He said, "Listen, I got the paperwork done easily, and they already sent a team down there… uh, they've already sent back around five hundred bones."

"… you're kidding me."

"And they say there's more to come." He said, "Who's gonna go through all these bones?"

"Squints." I said, hanging up. I looked up at Cam, "You're in for a long night."

She glared at me, "And I assume you'll just be running along, enjoying your night."

"No." I said, sitting down in an empty chair as a man walked in with a huge box full or pieces of bone. "This is my case, I'm sticking around until you all give me something."

They looked at each other again, and the man gave me a crooked smile, "Get comfortable then."

Was that another test?

**SIXTEEN HOURS LATER:**

The man, who's name I found out was Jason, said, "Well, mostly these are animal remains, some are plastic."

"Any human?" I asked.

"None yet." Cam mumbled, looking over another bone. She sighed, "This one's chicken."

"Great, not I want hot wings." I groaned.

"I got something!" Jason called. "Human finger bone, looks like it might be the victims."

"You can tell just by the finger bone?"

"Well, when our victim, Gabriel, was thirteen, he broke his finger in a bad tackle. Medical records match us, it's the same finger." Jason explained.

Cam nodded, "Good job, let's see if we can find anymore."

Tyson rushed in, "Brantley, I got something. Gabriel arranged to meet with his girlfriend the night he disappeared, but he never showed."

Jason frowned, "So?"

"So." I said, standing up, "We've got out first witness, and I've got to question her."

**INTERROGATION ROOM:**

I said down across from Susan, thumbing through pictures of her and Gabriel. "How did you meet Gabriel?"

She took a deep breath, "His first high school football game, three years ago."

"Check out the picture of them kissing." Jade said through my com link. She was behind a one way mirror, doing her specialty of reading faces by looking at the session, and copies of the photos. "Major tongue action."

I picked up the picture of them kissing, "How long where you involved like this?"

"Three weeks after the game."

Jade scoffed, "He was barely shaving three years ago, what was a twenty six year old woman doing playing squeeze and squish with a nineteen year old boy?"

"Squeeze and squish?" I mumbled.

Susan looked at me funny, "I beg your pardon?'

"… With a nineteen year old." I explained.

"Gabriel pursued me." She said firmly. "His taste ran to older women."

"Can you think of anyone who'd want him dead?" I asked.

She scoffed, "Every player on his team. The colleges were only paying attention to him."

"Why?"

"He was really good at what he did, play football." She said.

I paused, "Alright, thank you, you can leave now."

"Wait a minute Brantley!" Jade said through the com. link.

"Wait one moment Ma'am." I said.

"Check out the photo of them at prom." Jade instructed.

I took the album, pointing to that picture, prom night, she wasn't happy, she was sad. "Wanna explain this?"

**WITH JADE:**

Natasha and Clint came into the booth, Clint walked up next to me, "How's she doing?"

I smirked, "Crackin her like a peanut."

Clint nodded stiffly, and I could read him easily. He was proud."

"Prom." Susan said, "It was a wonderful night when he invited me to his high school prom."

"You look sad." Brantley pointed out.

I spoke again, "Like she knew he was gonna die!"

"Like you knew there was someone else." Brantley concluded.

"There was?" I asked, puzzled. Clint leaned forwards to the mirror, staring intently.

"There was someone else in his life." Brantley said, staring Susan down. "Someone I need to know about."

"Brilliant Brantley!" I said, "Brilliant! This time, ask-"

"Shh!" She hissed.

"What?' Susan asked.

"Uh, nothing, sorry, just, quietly, who was it Susan?" Brantley drilled.

She paused, before flipping through the album, pointing to a picture of a woman standing next to Gabriel, "Ask _her_."

Brantley stared at the picture, until her mouth fell open a little. "Rona Sumner?"

"Who's Rona Sumner?" I asked through the com. link.

"Wife of Leo Sumner." Brantley said, "Director of the Secret Service."

Clint smiled, nodding, "Good job."

**WITH BRANTLEY, BACK AT THE LAB:**

Jason walked up to me, "We found dust in the skull, which turned out to be pink cyanide. It's the Cadillac of granites."

"How'd it get on the skull?" I asked him.

He paused, "We scientist have a special term for that, it's called, I don't know."

I chuckled. He continued, "But, it's relatively rare. So I tracked down the specific type, and found out it's from Canada."

"Canada?" I asked.

"Yeah." He said, "And, none of it's been shipped to DC, where the skull was found, at all, in the last hundred years."

"So…?"

"I found half a dozen sources that have that type of cyanide. A few gardens, private estates, and one entire bank building."

I nodded, "Text me the details, I'm on my way."

I grabbed my phone, dialing Tyson's number, "Tyson?"

"Yeah, I know what your gonna ask. Yes, we just got done questioning the husband. Jade says he didn't kill Gabriel for sleeping with his wife, and she says the wife didn't kill him either." There was a pause, "It kind of creeping me out well she does that."

"Focus Tyson." I said, "We've got a possible location, I'll text you the directions, meet me there."

I hung up, rushing down the steps, nearly running into Clint, he grabbed me to keep me from falling, "Brantley, did you really arrest the director of the secret service?"

"Uh, yeah."

He paused, before smirking, shaking his head, "That's stupid, and a bit bad ass. Good job kid."

"Thanks." I said, walking away. "And don't call me kid."

I drove down the road in a black van S.H.I.E.L.D. had lent me, talking to Tyson who was riding shotgun, "Jason says this bank is disserted, serial killer heaven. Perfect place for a cannibal who's done this plenty of times before."

I pulled into the parking lot of the bank, rushing in with him. We got in easily with a key Cam had supplied. "Brace yourself, this isn't going to be pretty."

I threw open the door, looking around to try and find blood, butchering instruments, or even better, a crazy man sitting on the ground, gnawing on a human leg. Nothing. Not even dust.

I took out my phone, "Jason? This place is clean."

"Did you look downstairs?" He asked.

"Downstairs?" I asked.

"Yeah, there's a vault that's cut right into the foundation of the place, check there." I hung up, and Tyson and I found it easily.

"Perfect spot." He said. "No one could get out once he put them in there."

"Are we even sure that the cannibal in male?" I asked.

"Alright, alright. You sound just like Jade." He snapped.

"I wasn't accusing you of sexism, it was just an honest question." I said.

He paused, "You're a lot less of a jerk now than you were in that training session."

I shrugged, "I was under pressure, completely stressed out. I get angry when I'm stressed out."

He shrugged, "Alright then."

"Now to get into the vault."

Tyson laughed, "You want me to kick down the door?"

"Use your fingers as a blow torch, take it off the wall." I ordered.

He was a bit taken back, but then nodded, "Oh, uh, okay."

Half an hour later, we were in.

We walked in carefully, flashlight beams shining into the dark, revealing a lot of probably priceless artifacts. I heard a small beep noise, and I looked over my shoulder to see a metal box on the wall, a red light beeping.

"Bomb!" I screamed, body tackling Tyson to the floor, jumping on top of him to cover him from the blast. Seconds ticked by.

"Why are your eyes closed?"

I paused, opening them, staring down at Tyson, "I thought we were gonna get blown up…"

Tyson looked a the metal box, "It's a transmitter."

"Great." I groaned, getting off Tyson, "Now whoever did this knows we're here."

He stood up, then went stiff, "Brantley?"

I looked behind me, seeing a statue of a human skeletal system, in silver metal. Not all of it was silver though, some of the silver bone replicas had been taken out, and replaced with normal human bones. "It's possible, we just found more of Gabriel."

**BACK AT SHIELD:**

Jade stared at us, "You convinced Fury to move the entire contents of the bank vault, into the SHIELD basement?"

I nodded, "We told him it was one of those 'bring the mountain to Mohammed' situations."

"And the squints are taking care of it as we speak." Tyson said.

I read a text message Jason sent me, "Jason says all the bones have teeth marks, and not all of them are from the same person."

"A multiple cannibal serial killing?" Tyson asked. "This is just… crazy."

"And the depth of the teeth scoring on the skull suggested that it was cooked." I said.

Jade turned pale, "They… stuck a human head... into a stove?"

I nodded, "Yeah. A decapitated human head. And the scrapings on the skull, showed that the cannibal had a diamond tooth inset on his lateral incisor."

Tyson brightened up, "And the only people with access to the bank vault was the cleaning crew, since the bank was abandoned, and left as a historical monument."

Jade caught on, "So that means, anyone on the cleaning crew with a diamond in his tooth is your cannibal!"

I nodded, "Exactly, and there's only one. Who wants to watch me question him?"

Tyson and Jade followed me to the interrogation room quickly.

**SEVERAL MINUTES LATER:**

"No." I said to the man sitting across from me, "It's not just because you have a diamond in your tooth."

I leaned forward, "Do you know why you're here Tim?"

He cracked a grin, revealing his diamond studded tooth, "It seems like that part should be your responsibility."

"Think about it. You're a smart kid, you went to a private school." I said.

"First of all, you're younger than me, buy several years. If anyone in this room is a kid, it's you. And yes, I did go to private school, six of them. Got kicked out of every one."

"Yeah." I said, for attacking people in their sleep."

"I got counseling." He assured me, "I'm cured."

"So you do your community service cleaning the floors, how'd you get in the vault?"

"At the old bank?' he questioned.

"You don't strike me as the type to sit on the floor all night listening to tumblers through a stethoscope." I said. "You found the combination when you were cleaning up somewhere."

"No one can get inside the vault, it's what you call impregnable." He said.

"Not true." I said, slamming the metal box from the bank down on the table, "This is the transmitter we found in the vault. You see, a normal guy comes across treasure in a vault, he sells it off. You went a whole different way."

I set a stick of putty on the table, "Could you bite this please? So we can get your dentals?"

He looked up at me, "No."

"I was being polite." I stressed, taking out my badge, showing it to him, "You see this, this is a badge that says I can do anything I want to you, and get away with it. You'll _never _see a badge like this again. Take a good long look, before I start torturing you to get you to bite down."

He paused, "What do you need them for?"

"The diamond in your incisor left a mark on the skull." I said. "The skull that you gnawed on. You bite this, I take it to the lab, they tell me if you were the one who ate that boy."

He paused, before sighing, looking at me, "It's not like chicken or pork you know. People always say that it is, but it's not. It's more like beef." he stared me straight in the eye, not letting me look away.

The creepy kid from next door had turned into a very scary, haunting young man.

"The face is a little sweeter, more tender." He said, and I leaned back, not liking the way he was looking at me at all. Like I was a delectable steak. "The younger the person, the better." He took in a deep breath, as if savoring the taste of human flesh, "Except babies." He picked up the stick of putty, "Babies taste kind of like fish."

He stuck the putty in his mouth, biting down harshly, a wild look in his eyes that made me flinch. That's what he wanted.


	22. Therapy, It's Not Fun, But It Helps

**WITH BRANTLEY:**

I frowned, crossing my arms, sagging down in the chair a little, glaring at the man sitting across from me in the room. I didn't like this room. Everything in here was to round. The coffee table in-between me and the therapist was round, the one way mirror on the side of the wall was round, the pictures and decorations on the wall were round, the chairs they sat in had rounded backs, the bookshelves were round, but there were no books on the shelves. The shelves were filled with knick knacks, clay hearts, glass apples, little yellow suns, balls of colorful yarn, rocks, and a large decorative skeleton key with a round-ish handle.

Then there were the colors in the room. The walls were a bright orange, and the wood floor was black. The one way mirror frame, the wood paneling, door paneling, book shelves, and coffee table were all black as well. My new therapist liked Halloween colors.

Jade would have so much fun deciphering this room. Telling me what this said about the therapist. Honestly, if I could pick up on these patterns, it meant that this therapist was not good at concealing his own little quirks.

If I had several doctorate degrees in psychology, the first thing I would do would be to cover my own patterns. Psychology was a two way street, you learn to point out other's quirks and you learn to cover your own.

He didn't learn that second one.

Fury said he was the best, he could crack anyone. Expert profiler. Fury said he could read people better than Jade. He gave me enough proof of the guy's skills when he told me that this guy was Fury's own personal therapist. If this guy cracks Fury, he can crack me. Need a game plan, a thorough one.

Therapist smiled at me, "So, you're Hawkeye's protégé?"

"Do I need to answer that painfully obvious question?" I asked sarcastically.

He paused, scribbling something down in his books. I frowned, I had only said one sentence so far, what could he possibly have to write down?

"And your code name, Longshot, correct?"

"Yeah."

Scribble. What… That was only one word… What was he writing? What could he possibly get form one freaking word?

"Interesting." He said, offering me a smile. I didn't take it. "So, may I ask, why you would take that name, instead of a bird related name like your mentor?"

That took me off guard. What was so important about my name? "Uh… I just… didn't really give it much thought…" I mumbled.

Scribble. This was getting ridiculous.

"Good." How was that good? This is confusing.

"So, tell me, how do you like S.H.I.E.L.D. so far? Any opinions of other agents? Opinions about General Fury?" He asked.

"S.H.I.E.L.D. is fine." I said, "Don't know many other agents. General Fury is my boss."

He scribbled something down again, "I didn't ask for definitions, I asked for opinions."

"Uh… I like the few agents I know… Fury is… okay."

"Neutral answers." He said. "Seems you're worried about giving real opinions to me, because you don't want me to analyze you."

I frowned, standing up, "I'm out of here."

"Hold on." He said, "I have one more question."

I snorted, sitting back down, "Fine."

"Thank you. Now, your first solo case, I've read the file one it." He paused, "It seems a little odd that the Council would put an agent, whose file shows nothing of experience with investigation, on a case centered solely around investigation, not to mention, her first mission alone."

I shrugged, "Clearly they were trying to find my limits. See what else I might be good at."

He nodded, "Interesting take on their actions. Now, this case, is it safe to say that it unnerved you?"

"You mean was I scared?" I asked, rolling my eyes. "No. he was a cannibal, not an assassin. I saw his build, he was useless in a fight. I could have taken him easily."

"I'm not being particular about that kind of fear." He said, "But the fact you jumped to put yourself above him in the area of physical combat, that's something we should look into next week."

"What?" I questioned, I didn't jump to put myself better than him!

He continued, "No, I'm talking about the kind of fear of the unknown. The fear of looking into a man's eyes, a man whose killed people, and ate them. From his description, he's also eaten… babies, correct?"

"Yeah." I said, trying to suppress the shiver going up my spine.

"How did that make you feel?" He asked.

I shrugged, "Like I was dealing with a crazy person. I was. Are we done here, I have training."

"Well, we should probably talk about-"

"No, we're done. And just so you know, I wasn't scared, the only thought going through my head in that interrogation room, was if it would be worth the red in my ledger if I killed him then and there." I met his gaze head on challenging him, "With a man like that, I would think I would be fully justified to kill him."

Without even waiting for a reply, I stood up and left. Therapy is pointless.

**WITH TYSON:**

"So, Tyson." The therapist started, "I see you recently worked on a case with Agent Evans, involving a cannibal."

"Yeah." I mumbled, then looked up at the therapist, "This is the part where you grill me, right? Make sure I'm not still trippin' from it? That it's not drivin' me crazy? Well guess what, it is!"

He nodded, "Tell me more."

I paused, letting out a very tired sigh. "I never thought… I mean, I knew what cannibals were, but I didn't think they were still around. That there were still people who ate… other people. Killed them… I watched that interrogation, Brantley should be freaking out, that guy was crazy! He was a freak! I looked into his eyes, and I could tell."

"Tell what?" He asked, leaning forward. "What could you see Tyson?"

"He meant every word." I said. "He knew what he was talking about. It wasn't some Creature Feature nonsense! He did everything he talked about."

He nodded, writing down something, "How does that make you feel?"

"… Disgusted… scared… mostly scared."

"What are you afraid of?"

"… I know, that he's in jail now, that he won't get out, never. But every night, I have these nightmares… that he comes back, and he eats me, alive."

He nodded, "It's a common reaction Tyson, fear. Fear of something that's not normal. You're unnerved by the fact that something like this, happened in today's modern world. You're trying to deny that fact, trying to claim that this man was just a common psychotic. Then you're trying to convince yourself that this man is gone for good. You're failing, because something inside of you, fear or instinct, is telling you that he's not gone, and he's coming back for you."

I paused, "I'm waiting for you to tell me that I'm wrong."

He shook his head, "I'm not here to make you think your fears aren't real, that's something Brantley should be helping you with, or maybe Jade, or someone else on your team you feel comfortable speaking to. My job is to help you realize your fear, and overcome it in your mind."

I nodded, "That… that would really help."

He smiled, "Good, because that's what we're going to be doing to day. Now, let's start with your impression of the case when you first heard of it."

I shrugged, "I was a little, excited." I snorted, "Can you believe that? I was excited. Someone gets murdered, I get chosen to investigate it, and I'm excited. That's sick."

He wrote down something, "Why do you think Brantley picked you for this case?"

I sighed, "I don't know. Honestly, we all expected her to take Jade with her. Or maybe Clyde, kid's got a thing for her."

He paused, "A thing?"

I nodded, "A little crush, she was carrying him around on her back in that training session, saved his life. He's got a little fan boy crush going on. It'll be over in a week or two, I'm pretty sure it'll turn into a big sister/little brother kind of thing."

He nodded, "I understand, so, do you think Brantley is a good role model for Clyde?"

Tyson paused, "Can I be honest?"

"Of course, I'm your therapist."

"Well, to be completely honest… no, I don't think she is. She's cold, distant, snappy, and the worst part is, she knows that she is, but she doesn't care." I frowned, "I don't think she's a jerk, not all of the time, I mean, when she thought there was a bomb in that vault, she threw me down on the ground, and then shielded me with her body."

"Did you ever thank her for that?" He asked.

"… no. I didn't."

"Do you think you should?"

"Actually, yeah, I do. I should have thanked her. She thought she was putting herself between me and a bomb." I mumbled. "I can't say… I can't say I would have done the same. Not before… but now, yeah. I think I would."

He smiled, "That's a good thing. It's important to have trust in your teammates."

I nodded, "If that's the case… never mind."

"No, it's okay, you can say it." He urged, "You can say anything here."

"Alright." I took a deep breath, "If that's the case, then Jackson shouldn't be allowed on the team."

There was a brief silence. "Why do you think that?"

"Jackson and Brantley already hate each other." I explained, "It's obvious they can't work together. This is a judgment call. One of them has to go, and I'm thinking rationally. Who do I trust to have me back more? Jackson, or Brantley? The answer is obvious. Jackson is a good kid, but he's self centered. It's always about him. He's think about catching the bad guy above his team. Not that he's intentionally leave us for dead, but if the bad guy runs one way, and I run the other, he'll chase after the bad guy, instead of staying beside me." I took a deep breath, "I can't trust him, not in the field. Not yet."

He nodded, "Now, Tyson, you're going to be eighteen soon, correct?"

"Yeah, in three months."

"What do you think the council will do when they know about this team? Will they wait until Tama is old enough, or put you all out into the field the minute you're eighteen?"

I looked him straight in the eye, "Do you know how old Brantley is?"

"Fifteen."

"I think you've already answered the question." I said.

**WITH JADE:**

I smirked at the man across from me, "Interestin' room."

He raised an eyebrow, "Excuse me?"

"Round, everything." I said pleasantly, "Black and orange as main colors. It tells me a lot."

"Really?" The man asked, "What?"

"The round… everything, it tells me yer in rebellion to square objects. Square objects generally represent strictly business-like atmospheres, suit-and-tie jobs. Which means yer in rebellion to not only those atmospheres, and let's face it, the side of S.H.I.E.L.D. that you've experienced is one of those atmospheres, but yer also in rebellion to people who have those types of jobs." I rattled off.

"Meaning, yer in rebellion to General Fury, The Council, and strictly business people here like Agent Hill, Hawkeye, Black Widow, Bruce Banner, really the list goes on and on, but I'll stop it there."

I paused, looking the man up and down, he was a bit shaken, but he was trying to cover it up. Not gonna happen honey. "Now, resorting to round objects as opposed to square, it's a direct contrast. Round objects promote more of a care free, go with the flow feel. Telling me, you, yerself, are what we call, a free spirit."

He swallowed, nothing to noticeable, but he swallowed. I had him on the ropes. "Now, the only question left to answer, is why a man with such a contrasting personality to the normal personality of a facility like this, who obviously doesn't like to read, given your book shelves with no books, took such a strictly business job like S.H.I.E.L.D.."

Silence.

I stood up, offering him the pleasant smile again. "Seems we're done for the day. Ah'm sure that next time, we'll hit the break through Ah'm looking for, or, more importantly, the break through you're looking for."

Well, that was certainly fun.


	23. The Sacrifice Of Hiding In A Lie

Fury looked across his desk at the two teenagers staring back at him. Brantley Evans and Jackson Stark. They were both as different as yin and yang.

Brantley stood at five foot seven, crazy brown hair flailing in her bright blue eyes, covering them from sight. She was a dedicated soldier, followed orders easily, and from what Clint told him, was dedicated heart and soul to S.H.I.E.L.D. and all the other agents in it.

Jackson Stark was a different story entirely. Jackson stood at four foot eleven, neatly trimmed black hair gelled so it would spike up slightly, but still look formal. His muddy brown eyes were easily able to be spotted. He was immature, he hated being told what to do and didn't follow orders at all. From what Fury had been told from _anyone _who ever came into contact with the boy, the only thing he felt for S.H.I.E.L.D. was the excitement of the chance it gave him to be a hero, like his father.

Brantley was like Clint, Fury trusted her completely, well, almost. She was still new, and had yet to earn his full respect. She seemed to be a bit of a glory chaser, but that could just be a misleading first impression. Brantley had a large family that she was far to shamed to speak to ever again, yet she held family above all else. She was the youngest child, with four older siblings. With that kind of family, she was used to waiting her turn.

Jackson was like Stark, Fury didn't even trust him as far as he could throw him. Jackson had been here longer, but didn't have a shred of Fury's respect. Jackson was one of those kids that rebels just for the sake of rebelling. Jackson had a very small family, a mother and a father, and he didn't understand how important they were. He was an only child. With that kind of family, he was used to coming first, always.

They were polar opposites. He knew this when he put them on the same team. They were supposed to complete each other, like two halves of a circle. Apparently they were more like the wrongs ends of magnets. Maybe he had chosen wrong, perhaps he was simply getting to old for this job. The stress was certainly getting to him.

"Your team handler tells me that she refuses to take this team for even a trial run until some issues between you two are resolved." Fury stated. "Either of you mind telling me what exactly she's talking about?"

They paused, glancing at each other out of the corner of their eyes. Neither of them wanted to be a snitch, but they didn't want to give the other person the opportunity of snitching before them.

Agent Evans spoke up first, "Agent Hill had us go through the same training session we did two weeks ago, to see any improvement."

"I see." Fury sighed, "Was there any?"

"Clyde didn't need saving this time." Brantley explained. "And I wasn't hit by friendly fire."

"Good." Fury said, crossing his arms, "So, why was there some sort of issue between you two?"

Jackson spoke up, "Because Brantley is apparently a one on one fighter who doesn't listen to her team!"

"You could have told me it was a fire proof robot before I acted!" Brantley snapped.

"I tried, you just ran off!" Jackson snapped, glaring at her.

Brantley jabbed a finger at him, "That suit of yours is a faster flyer than I am a runner, you could have stopped me if you wanted, you wanted to see me get hurt!"

"I did not!" Jackson shot back, "You weren't listening!"

"You didn't try to warn me fast enough!"

Fury sighed. So apparently Evans had tried to blow up the robot they had been up against this time around, and Jackson had tried to warn her, but he hadn't tried to stop her.

They were both at fault. Evans should have been listening harder to her teammates and Jackson should have tried to physically stop her when she didn't hear his verbal warning.

Their bickering continued, until Fury slammed his fist onto the table, "Enough!"

They both went silent, looking at him, "Jackson! You're twelve years old, while your actions are understandable because you're still a child, we don't need _children _here. You need to learn to put your teammates first, and do everything in your power to _protect _them. Here at S.H.I.E.L.D. we have a little policy that normally goes unspoken, because the council frowns upon it. If we have to chose between completing a mission, or saving our teammates lives, we chose our teammates. We aren't looking for someone who just wants to be a hero."

Jackson winced a little, showing Fury's lecture had drilled in, even if just a little. Fury turned his gaze to Brantley, who immediately stood a little straighter, readying herself for any of Fury's verbal accusations.

"Brantley." Fury said, lowering his voice, and his shoulders. "Words can't express my disappointment. I thought you were smarter than to run into battle, without consulting the one person on your team who could tell you every weak point and strength of your target, that was careless and stupid! We don't tolerate this in S.H.I.E.L.D.!"

Brantley cringed, and Fury took in a deep breath, calming down. "You two have been at each others throats ever since you met. This has to stop now. Agent Hill has requested that you both attend therapy to work out your issues."

Brantley sucked in a breath through her teeth. It was no secret she despised therapy, not even despise, she thought it was simply useless.

"I have taken the liberty of signing both of you up for a mission. If you can get through it, and prove you can work together, then there is no need for therapy. If not, you can say goodbye to your Friday afternoons. You'll be spending them with Brantley's therapist, Dr. Acula." Fury said, handing a file to Brantley. "There's multiple mission possibilities in there, pick one together. Dismissed."

Brantley and Jackson walked out of Fury's office, walking down the long hall to their rec room. Jackson huffed, "Know it all. Who does he think he is, talking to me like that?"

Brantley snapped. She grabbed the collar of Jackson's button up shirt, shoving him against the railing, pushing him on top of it so half of his body was dangling over the edge, if she let go of him, he'd fall nine feet onto the observatory platform.

"Are you crazy!?" Jackson asked, flailing his arms around. He went stiff the minute he looked at Brantley. The sudden attack had made her hair move to the side of her face, revealing her eyes. He was right, she was crazy. She had no problems with letting him fall.

"He _thinks_, and is right in thinking so, that he is the leader of one of America's most elite facilities, and that if he dispatches our team, with unresolved issues between _any _of us, _none _of us will come back alive!" Brantley hissed. "So I suggest you put aside whatever issues you have about me-"

Brantley yanked him back up onto the walkway, steadying him carefully. "And you act like an adult for once, or at least you act like you care about someone other than yourself."

She let go of his collar, walking down the hall. After Jackson swallowed his pride, he followed her.

**HALF AN HOUR LATER:**

Jackson shook his head, "No, I hate Canada, I don't want a mission that helps them."

"So trying to locate the killer of several Canadian Mounties helps Canada, which you absolutely refuse to do?" Brantley asked, rolling her eyes.

"Yes." He snapped. "Canada claims to have this extremely low crime rate, yet they grovel to S.H.I.E.L.D. to help stop the first serial killer they've had in, what? A hundred years?"

"It's more like seventeen years." Brantley dismissed.

Jackson held up a file, "What about this one? Personal request from her highness, The Queen Of England to find a small emerald ear ring she claims was stolen eight weeks ago."

"Cocky Brit, asking for help from America's best agency to help find a piece of jewelry, because Scotland Yard turned her down." Brantley snapped. "I got it!"

She triumphantly held up a file, "This is half a skeleton that was found in a small town in Montana, squint squad has it in their lab, right now, waiting for identification and cause of death."

Jackson paused, "You wanna work with the squint squad? All those snobs?"

Brantley shrugged, "They aren't that bad."

Honestly, Brantley felt something odd concerning the squints. The last case she had worked on, they had all seemed to be testing her, and she felt as if she had past the test, gaining respect. All the field agents respected her because she could hit a few targets, but their respect seemed to run deeper. It was a feeling that upset her, and she intended to find out why they felt she had to further prove her skills.

Jackson agreed to take the case, he had heard a lot about the legendary mind power of the so called squint squad, and he probably wanted to see if they could measure up to him.

Cam greeted Brantley and Jackson at the top of the stairs, "Agent Evans, glad to have you back. And who's this?"

Jackson nodded at Cam, "Jackson Stark."

"I wasn't asking you." Cam retorted, then turned to Brantley again, "You're hear about the incomplete skeleton we found in the Montana river, correct?"

"Yes ma'am." Brantley said, following Cam up the stairs. She looked over her shoulder at a pouting Jackson, "Don't take it personal, they treat everyone like an idiot."

Jason was staring into his microscope again, and didn't even look up from it when they walked in, "Hey Brant."

"Jason." Brantley greeted, walking past him, after Cam.

Jackson frowned, looking over Jason's shoulder, "What are you looking at?"

"Classified." Jason shot down, not even acknowledging Jackson.

"If it's part of this case, then I have clearance." Jackson assured.

"Classified." Jason repeated, still not looking up.

Jackson frowned, "Is that all you know how to say?"

"Jackson." Brantley called, "Need you over here, not bothering the squints."

Cam directed them over to a table, where the torso, arms, and skull were resting on an examination table. "Honestly, this one's reached a dead end." Cam explained, "We can't tell the age because there wasn't enough DNA or skeleton to work with, and we can't even tell the sex because we don't have a pelvic bone." She looked up from the skeleton, "What do you see Brantley?"

Jackson stared at Cam, "What are you asking her? She doesn't have any forensic training, there's no way she could see something you missed."

Cam shot Jackson a look, "Upset I didn't ask you, since you've got _so _much more experience? Tell me, how many university hours have you spent in forensics?"

Jackson paused, "Uh, I read a book on it once."

Jason laughed, looking up from his microscope, over at Cam, "Kid read a book." His eyes traveled to Brantley, "How'd you get saddled with this one?"

"Team building exercise." Brantley waved off. "Don't be mean to him, he's in his last year of college. He's a smart kid."

"I'm sure." Cam waved off, "Now, Brantley, what do you see?"

Brantley's eyes scanned over the carcass, "Pretty decayed, that means, well if it was submerged in the water, then it's a few weeks old, right?"

Cam nodded, "Can you give me a solid number?"

Brantley paused, "Four to five weeks?"

Cam raised an eyebrow, "Close, two to three. Four would be pushing it. Anything else?"

"It's been… well, eaten a little, since it was in a lake, I'd say by fish, crabs, but no big chomps." Brantley mumbled, "No alligators, or sharks as far as I can see."

"That's good." Cam said, "Very good. Can you tell me anything else?"

Brantley looked over the body again, "Uh, here, on the back bone-"

"Proper term is spinal cord." Jackson said, stepping up, "And it seems to be a relatively clean cut, it wasn't sawed off."

Cam looked up at Jackson, "You, weren't asked. Go stand on the wall, I'll call you later when we need someone to build a car or something shot."

Brantley sighed, "Cam, give the kid a break, it's his first case."

"Yeah." Jackson snapped, "And I'm only a few months away from getting my doctorate degree, I'll be thirteen when I get it."

Cam looked up, "Thirteen? It's taken you that long?"

Jackson paused, "What do you mean that long, most people are well into their twenties-"

"I was eleven." Cam explained.

Jason spoke up, still not taking his eyes off his microscope, "I was nine."

Jackson's mouth fell open a little, "There's no way-"

"Back then my IQ was only a little over two hundred, of course mine is a lot hire currently. What was your Jason?"

"If I remember correctly, which I always do, mine was exactly two hundred fifty six. Right now mine is nearly three hundred." Jason said, finally tearing his eyes away from the microscope, "What about your kids?"

Jackson paused, "Uh, mine is one hundred seventy three."

All eyes turned to Brantley, "Never taken an IQ in my life."

Well, that repaired a bit of Jackson's bruised ego.

"So, anything Brantley?" Cam asked.

Brantley swept over it again, "Nope, nothing."

Cam nodded, "Most people overlook these things." She pointed to the area around the sternum, "See this? It's a breast implant. We can get a serial number off of it, and get identification."

"Oh, wow I never thought about using that for identification." Brantley mused, "What if the implants we're seeing were jumped dumped on the victim to make it look like a woman, after all, we can't be sure of the sex until we get a pelvic bone, right?"

"True." Cam said, "Our forensics team is currently sweeping the lake for any other bones. But, if these implants were simply dumped on the victim, then they were either stolen from a plastic surgeon, so the serial number will lead us to him, and hopefully the thief and possibly the murderer, or the implants were torn from another woman's chest, in which case we'll now have two victims." Cam crossed her arms, "Which will make bringing him in a lot bigger of a deal for you two."

"Let's just cross our fingers that there's only one victim here." Brantley mumbled. "The severed spine, that means foul play right?"

"Not necessarily." Came said.

"Oh, so then it was an accident." Jackson piped up.

"No it was foul play." Cam shot down. She pointed to the hand, "Another thing you missed, this hand right here, it sustained trauma. Something fairly large, a blunt object, hit is with a reasonable amount of force."

Brantley's face lit up, as if she just realized something, "And from impact force you can get the weight and height of the murderer, right?"

"Only if we find out the exact dimensions of the object, and whatever the hand was resting on." Cam said, "Jason is looking for any particulates that might have gotten lodged in the fingers."

Jackson paused, "Hey… that's not classified!"

Jason shrugged, "I know, I just wanted you to shut up."

Brantley sighed, "Come on guys, please be nice to the kid, I mean, Jackson."

Jason snorted, "Just because you have to make nice with the kid doesn't mean that we do too Brant."

Can snapped her fingers, "Brantley, attention over here. Look at the eye sockets, anything special about them?"

Brantley frowned, "None that I can see."

Jackson rolled his eyes, "For the love of God, archer girl, they've been ground down."

Brantley paused, "Wait, you mean… the killer, ground her eyes out?"

"No." Cam said, giving Jackson a warning glance, "The skull bone around the eye was shaved away, long before death, and what do you think that means?"

Brantley frowned, hesitating, "Plastic surgery?"

Cam smiled, "Very good. We'll make a scientist out of you yet." Cam handed Brantley a pair of Latex gloves, "We've already made molds of the bones, so feel free to poke around. Notice any other trauma?"

Brantley pulled on the gloves, brushing her fingers over the back of the skull, "There's cracks on the back of the skull."

Cam nodded, "Good job, but the professional term is fracturing. Could that have been what killed her?"

Brantley paused, "I don't know, Jackson what do you think?'

Jackson hesitated, before walking up next to Brantley, "Uh, no, she would have lived from that."

Brantley nodded, "Thank you."

Jackson smiled a little. "No problem. It's all about depth."

Cam raised an eyebrow at the two, "And Fury doesn't think you two would work well together?"

They paused, looking at each other, before Brantley cleared her throat, "Uh, these scrapes, against the rib bones, there's so many of them, probably came from a small weapon, none did anything more than scrape at the bone, there's no fracturing, it could have been a knife-"

"Those are post death scrapes from the skeleton washing up against a rocky beach." Cam interrupted.

"Oh." Brantley paused, looking a bit sheepish.

"But good perception." Cam noted. "I traced the serial number on the breast implant to this woman." Cam handed a picture over to Brantley, she looked around thirty, had blonde hair, blue eyes. She was beautiful.

"Why go to all that trouble, all that surgery to make yourself look beautiful, and then hide in such a small town?" Brantley asked.

"Well, records showed up suspiciously little." Cam explained. "No credit cards, no drivers license, she didn't exist until five years ago. Three weeks ago she was reported missing, presumed drowned in the lake. She was well known for swimming there frequently."

Two people suddenly came into the room, carrying the lower half of a body between them on a gurney. "Found it!" One said, "Exactly eight miles and seventy feet from the torso."

They plopped it down on the table next to the torso, and Cam flinched. "Hey! Careful, to much jostling could jeopardize the evidence!"

The guy snorted, "Whatever lady, my job is done."

He left, and Cam groaned, Jason got up from his chair, helping her rearrange the carcass. Jason rolled his eyes, "No one listens to us, we get, no respect around here. We tell them to be gentle with the skull we brought from Peru, and they use it as a football."

Cam sighed, looking over the body, "Well, we were wrong. This can't be the lower half of the woman's carcass. This lower half, well, it's male. Pelvic bone speaks for itself."

Brantley frowned, looking between the victims legs, "Yeah well the other parts say female."

Cam paused, "What other parts?"

Brantley pointed beneath the waist, "Her vagina."

Cam paused, "Oh…"

Jason frowned, "No, something's wrong, no female's pelvic bone is triangular. It's just impossible."

Cam's eyes brightened. "Which means, our victim was male, and then had a surgery to turn himself into a woman."

Jackson cringed, "Ew, how do they even do that?"

Brantley frowned, "You don't know? Figured you would Mr. Harvard Graduate."

"Yeah forgive me, I've never been interested in becoming a woman."

Brantley nodded, "Well, what they do is, they split the male reproductive organ in half, and then they turn it inside out, careful not to harm any nerves."

Jackson cringed, "That… I think I'm going to…"

Jason shoved a plastic evidence bag into Jackson's hands, and Jackson promptly threw up into it.

Brantley frowned, "What was this man, uh, _person's_, job?"

Cam looked over the file, "Pastor of a church."

"After he had been turned into a woman?" Brantley asked. "Suppose some religious fundamentalist finds out that the pastor of a church is transgender, and insulted that their pastor is what they consider a heathen, they kill him- uh, her, or… what am I supposed to call this… person?"

Cam chuckled, "It's a common reaction, since you're in the lab, you can call her 'the victim' alright?"

"Thank you." Brantley said, "Or, maybe, the victim has sex with a man, and then afterwards, tells said man that she wasn't always a woman. The man is enraged, and that is a more likely cause for murder."

Jackson took a deep breath, "Well, you seem fairly open to the religious atmosphere."

"I'm Roman Catholic." Brantley waved off.

"Whoa." Jackson said, "Didn't see that coming."

"God exists, that's a certainty." Brantley explained, "Evolutionists can't prove any otherwise, their theory of evolution is full of holes. They claim it took millions of years for humans to form from one celled amebas, but they can't find any skeletal remains from that far back. They can't explain how the eye of the nautilus is as complex as a humans when according to their theory of evolution, it should be much more simple. God explains a lot more."

"Yeah, it's also a way of shoving off scientifically figuring out how we came to be." Jackson snapped, "The big bang theory, didn't they teach you that?"

"Yeah, your theory is that a lot of particles of matter got together, and friction developed, then exploded in a big bang, then some of the larger pieces of matter started developing life, right?"

Jackson nodded, "Right."

"Where did the matter come from?" Brantley asked.

Silence.

"Exactly."

Cam stepped in, "Alright, enough. Look, we don't care about the motive for murder here, it's not scientific."

Brantley frowned, "Oh come on Cam, you're a squint, your job is to find out how, my job is to find out why, and then we put how and why together, and get who."

Jason cleared his throat, "We're scientists, not field agents."

"Okay then, for a few minutes, play pretend with me. You're a guy, if you slept with Cam, and then found out she wasn't always a woman-"

"Brantley!" Cam snapped.

"It's just a scenario!" Brantley said.

Cam glared at her, "Yeah, a scenario where I'm a transgender. Make a different scenario."

"Alright!" Brantley said, exhausted with Cam. "Jason, you sleep with a random woman, who is not Cam, and you find out, maybe right afterwards, that she used to be a man. Would you have a motive for murder?"

Jason paused, "No. Actually, I'd find that kind of sexy."

"… Ew."

**SEVERAL HOURS LATER:**

Cam burst into the rec room, interrupting the team as they sat around, play cards, or reading, "Where's Brantley?"

Jackson looked up, setting his cards down, "I don't know, but if it's about the case-"

"I need her not you." Cam shot down.

"Up here." A voice called from atop a stack of crates, "What can I do you for Cam?"

Cam held up the file, "We know who killed him, uh, her. Jason found bone particulates in the crushed hand."

Brantley jumped down from the crates, "Well, considering the hand bones were broken, I would think so."

"Not from the victim." Cam said. "What we think happened was that two people were in a boat, and there was a struggled. The victim managed to get a good hit in on the killer, possibly shattering bones. Then, the victim was pushed out of the boat, into the water, and run over. The boat's propeller hit the victim on the top of her head, and the side of her hip."

"So, from the bone pieces, you can get DNA?" Brantley asked.

"Actually, yes." Cam said, "But we're at a blank here. No boat's propellers are so wide spaced that they could hit form the back of the head, then the side of the hip."

Brantley paused, "Hey Jackson, come here."

Jackson stood beside Brantley, "What?"

Brantley turned to Cam, "Alright, picture this, Jackson is the victim, I'm the murderer."

"Why do I have to be the victim?"

"We struggle." Brantley grabbed Jackson's shoulders, shaking him a little. "And then he grabbed my wrist." Jackson got the message, grabbing Brantley's wrist tightly. "And then he breaks it- don't do it for real Jackson! So, then, I push him out of the boat."

Brantley shoved Jackson back gently, "And he falls into the water. I steer the boat, and run him over, the propeller strikes the top of his head." Brantley tapped Jackson's cranium, "And then the boat keeps going for a moment or so, then I, the murderer, circle around, to make sure Jackson is dead. He isn't, well, she isn't."

"Hey!" Jackson protested.

"The victim was a girl!" Brantley snapped. "So, the victim isn't dead. She probably grabs the side of the boat, and I slam my fist down onto her hand, breaking it, and probably shoving my own bone fragments into it at well. She lets go, and I run over her again, hitting her hip. Then, I go home, and cover my tracks."

Cam nodded, "Alright, but who wanted her dead?"

"Get the DNA on the bones, and we'll know." Brantley pressed.

**LATER THAT NIGHT, IN THE CAFETERIA:**

Jackson approached Brantley, who was sitting alone in the mostly empty cafeteria, munching on french-fries. "Hey."

She looked up at him, then gestured for him to sit down, "Hey yourself."

"So, how'd the investigation go?"

"You'd know if you hadn't backed out of it before we found out who killed the victim." Brantley retorted.

"Yeah, well I don't like being a third wheel." Jackson said, grabbing one of Brantley's fries.

"Help yourself." Brantley said, rolling her eyes. "And yeah. We caught the murderer. She was a woman, didn't even know the pastor was a transgender. The woman's husband did though. The husband attended the church, and she in love with the pastor. According to lab results and the husbands word, they never slept together. His wife didn't believe him. Wife gets jealous at the possible affair, and killed the pastor."

"Wow, soap opera alert."

"The whole world is one big soap opera Jackson." Brantley said, "I know best friends who have tried to kill each other over a hairbrush."

"… really?"

"Yeah." Brantley sat back, staring at him, "So, guess you've got something on your mind then?"

"You know what I've got on my mind." Jackson snapped.

Brantley sighed, "We hate each other."

"Without a doubt." Jackson agreed.

"So." Brantley said, leaning back, "I talked to my therapist today. He's useless, for the most part, but he said I should try to ask my self why I hate you. After about an hour of beating up an innocent punching bag, I found an answer."

Jackson raised an eyebrow, "Pray tell."

Brantley leaned forward, "I hate you because you're a spoiled rich kid. I hate you, and I hate your kind. Everything you have in life was handed to you on a silver platter. You don't have to worry about when you'll get your next meal. And most likely, it'll be some really expensive dish that would take me a month to save up for."

Brantley sighed, glaring at Jackson, "Even your suit, the only thing that got you into S.H.I.E.L.D. was a gift from your dad. Your unnaturally high IQ was a genetic trait your dad passed down to you, natural ability. Your college, your dad paid for it. He bought all your clothed, all your expensive toys. I read your file, you went to a boarding school in China last year. Do you know what my parents would have done to get me that kind of opportunity growing up?" She paused, "Everything I've ever had in life, toys, books, clothes, food, a room… I had to _work_, for everything I've ever wanted. Not work as in go to school and get good grades so my daddy would put more money in my trust fund, I mean actually work, with my hands. I made my way into this world with hard work. Even all the skills I have, came from years of practice, they weren't passed down to me from genetics. Backbreaking practice. And now, my hard work is finally recognized, and I'm offered this." She took out her S.H.I.E.L.D. badge, "And I take it. Then, I find out I'm on the same team with a stuck up, trust funded, rich brat. I have no idea what the hell you did to deserve what I earned. I trust Fury's judgment, but I hate you. Everything about you, and I always will."

Jackson nodded, "I guess that makes sense."

"So, why do you hate me?"

"Because, everything you just said I had, the genius I was born with, I'm almost done with college, my IQ rivals nearly everyone hear, and they put me on a team with you. I'm pretty sure you never even finished elementary school. And they consider you qualified to be on a team with me. I hate that, and I hate you because of it. The squints, they should _love _me. By all means, I'm one of them. But they _hate _me. They like you, and you're the dumbest person I've ever met. You didn't get a single one of those questions Cam asked you right. But she and Jason still like you better."

They both paused, understanding passing between them.

"So." Jackson said, "Does this mean we can't work together? Who's leaving the team?"

"Neither of us is leaving the team." Brantley said. She leaned forward, "Jackson, I hate you, but if we were ever in battle together, in war together, you're on my _team_. I'd never leave you behind, hell, I'd _die _for you. Don't mistake that hate speech, I hate you, but I'm not self absorbed, the mission comes first."

Jackson paused, "So, the only question is, even if we hate each other, can we trust each other with our lives?"

Brantley nodded, "So, do you?"

Jackson sighed, "After what happened the first time we faced that robot, seeing you sling Clyde over your shoulder like that… yeah. Yeah, I can trust you with my life."

Brantley nodded, "Well… once you grow up a little bit, get more used to being a team player, I thin I'll be able to trust you with my life. You have to understand though, you have to _earn _that. Can you do that? Actually earn something?"

Jackson met her gaze, "Yes. I can."


	24. That's Why They Call Me Bad Company

Brantley sighed, looking at Dr. Acula with disdain, "Are we done yet?"

Dr. Acula offered her a small smile, "No, we've still got half an hour left. Now, how about today we talk about Clint."

"Agent Barton." Brantley corrected.

"That's what you call him?"

"It is when I'm on duty." Brantley snapped, "What about him?"

"What would you characterize your relationship with him as?" Dr. Acula asked.

Brantley paused, "Uh, casual, he teaches me, I learn…"

"Even though you're a full agent now, he still teaches you?"

"Yeah, I can't beat Clint yet, so I still have to keep learning."

"Am I also to understand that you've made amends with Jackson Stark?"

"Uh huh." Brantley mumbled. It was no secret she hated her therapist. She was often short with him.

"Now, what exactly was your hate for him directed towards?" He asked

"… At him."

Dr. Acula shook his head, "I mean, why did you hate him."

"Because he's an unreliable child who's never worked a day in his life." Brantley snapped, "Fury debriefed you on my history right?"

He nodded, "I know every gruesome detail."

Brantley snorted, "No, you know a basic outline of it. You don't know every horrific detail."

"Actually-"

"No, you don't know everything, because I didn't tell Fury, or Clint, everything. And none of the details were kept in a file by the foster system. They don't write down every nightmare, every act of violence, every plea for help. You know why? Because they don't care." Brantley said, glaring. "That said, here's my point, when I was five years old, my grandfather told me that if I took care of the six horses the circus owned, then he'd pay me six dollars. Dollar per horse." Brantley chuckled, "That day, from dawn till dusk, I hauled feed bags bigger than me, I dragged a stepladder to each horse, one by one, so I could brush each one down, I picked handfuls of grass, and handfed the colt with a bottle. At the end of the day, my legs were bruised, one of the horses had nearly stepped on me, and the colt had bitten my hand eight times." Brantley leaned forward, "At the end of the day, my grandfather kneeled down in front of me, looked me in the eyes, and handed me five dollars. I asked him why he hadn't given me six like he promised. Do you know what he said?"

Dr. Acula raised an eyebrow, "No, I don't know, but I'd like to know."

"He told me I had only earned five, because I hadn't cleaned out their hoofs. I learned a lot about making my own way in the world from him. Jackson, I feel sorry for him, he'll never, never know what it feels like to work, he'll never know the sense of accomplishment you get from finishing a job that you worked at with nothing but your hands."

Dr. Acula nodded, "I understand."

"I hope you do."

"Agent Hill informed me that your team is going to go through the robot test again, if you pass, you'll all be registered to S.H.I.E.L.D. as a team. Then the council find out. And fears on what they'll do?"

"Well they won't be able to stop it. They want human weapons, they want to control them. Most of us live here at S.H.I.E.L.D. anyways. If that's not control, I don't know what is. It's the loose canons, Tama, Jackson, those are the one's they'll fear. I'll be permitted to continue my work. As far as I can tell, the council likes me, likes the work I do for them anyway."

Dr. Acula nodded, "Yes, the council seems to have pretty high expectations from you. How do you feel about that?"

"You know what?" Brantley asked, standing up, "I don't really care. I've gotta go, Jade said I needed to meet her in the rec room this afternoon."

He nodded, "Alright. But today, your homework is to give some thought as to why the council is actually pushing these expectations on you. If you guess right, you can skip our next therapy session."

"Deal."

**IN THE REC ROOM:**

Tyson frowned, fiddling with his tie, trying to figure out how he was supposed to tie it, mumbling curses under his breath.

Jackson smirked, fully dressed in an expensive looking tux, "A three year old could do that better."

"I've never worn one before." Tyson complained.

"Here, let me help." Jade said, reaching out, and taking his tie into her hands. She fed the end through the sloppy loop Tyson had managed, "There ya go, all set."

"Oh. Uh, thanks." Tyson said, blushing a little.

Brantley walked in, raising an eyebrow, "Uh, why's everyone all dressed up?"

Jade turned to her, and Brantley immediately stiffened. Jade's eyes were red and raw, she had been crying. Something was wrong. "We have a funeral to attend."

Brantley's eyes widened, "Oh no. Who is it?"

"His name is Grayson Drake. He was an analyst who worked in foreign development analyzing." Jade said.

"You mean that sections where they do nothing but spy on other countries all day to make sure they aren't doing anything we disapprove of?" Brantley asked. "I don't know this guy… did you?"

"No." Jade admitted, "But for some reason we all got invitations to his funeral."

"Yeah, and I'm going, because it get's me out of running laps around the helicarrier." Jackson said, chuckling.

Clyde frowned, fiddling with the cufflinks on the edge of his shirt sleeve. "Tyson, why can't I just use a safety pin? And where's Tama, she said she was coming."

"The daughter of Thor never goes back on her words!" Tama exclaimed, entering.

Jade's eyes widened, "Oh… Uh, wow Tama… uh, nice outfit."

Jackson slapped his hand over his mouth, trying to stifle laughter, while Brantley just sighed. Tama was wearing a long sleeved sliver gown, with rubies, sapphires, diamonds, emerald and god knows what else sewed into the fabric.

Brantley shook her head, "Alright, Jade, let's split up, you explain mourning clothes to Tama until she gets it, and I'm going to dig through my alarmingly small closet and try to find something appropriate for a funeral."

Jade nodded, "Got it, Tama, how's about you sit down for a moment."

Brantley got to her room, finding a black pair of jeans, and a dark purple, short sleeve, button up shirt. Well, it would have to do. Shoe's? She didn't have any heels or sandals, and if she did, she wouldn't wear them anyway. Her black converse could be considered funeral appropriate. If she covered up the big white letters that boldly proclaimed 'THIS IS NOT A SHOE'.

Meh, who cared, she didn't know the guy.

Tyson had gotten his license, and he was permitted to borrow cars from the garage whenever he needed a ride. So, after getting the SUV on the ground, Tyson drove them all towards the guys house.

Brantley paused, "So, why exactly do we get to go? Does Fury think we actually know the guy?"

"He worked for S.H.I.E.L.D., Brantley." Clyde said, "When a fellow soldier falls, the entire army mourns."

"Five bucks says Fury doesn't even show up."

"Brantley!" Jade snapped, "You're betting on a man's funeral attendees?"

"You're on." Tyson met, "Fury knows this guy better than us, he'll totally be there."

"You think anyone else is gonna be there?" Jackson asked.

"Well, I know Natasha is, if she goes, Clint usually does too, maybe Bruce, and a couple of the guys closer friends at S.H.I.E.L.D., but other than that… I know the squints will go." Jade said.

"Why?" Clyde asked.

"A few squints always attend the funerals." Brantley said, "That's why the lab will be shut down today."

"Yeah but, why?" Clyde asked again.

"Dead people are kind of their thing." Brantley explained, "And they like observing people. They think all the social formalities that normal people do, like shaking hands, crying because of a breakup, and getting married are… fascinating."

"What's wrong with crying because of a breakup?" Jade asked.

"Absolutely nothing!" Brantley snapped, exasperated all of a sudden. Apparently she had argued with the squints about this one, and had probably lost…

"Okay then…"

Tyson suddenly stiffened, "Guys, I think I know who Grayson Drake is!"

"Who?" Everyone asked.

"Galaga Guy!" Tyson said, rubbing his forehead, "I'm pretty sure that was his real name."

"Oh no." Jade whispered.

Jackson shook his head slowly, "That cheeky son of a-"

"Not Galaga Guy!" Clyde whined.

"Of all the people to go… never thought it would be Galaga Guy." Brantley mumbled.

"Oh crap!" Jackson said, "I owed him twenty bucks!"

Brantley looked over at him, "What are _you _complaining about? _He _owed _me _ten bucks! How am I gonna get that now!? If I ask his relatives for it, then I come off as an inconsiderate douche! And not only that, but now we can't bust him for playing Galaga anymore!"

"Yeah, Galaga Guy was fun…" Clyde mumbled.

"You just walked in, and eighty percent of the time, he was shooting away at those colorful little alien ships." Jade giggled.

"And when you busted him for it, he would always jump out of his skin, like he was gonna get fired for it!" Tyson laughed.

"But, no one ever cared!" Brantley recalled, "Fury, Agent Hill, none of the higher ups ever said a word to him about it!"

"You know why?" Tama asked, she had replaced her flashy dress with a much more modest white dress with a black belt. "Because they liked catching him for it too."

Brantley laughed, "Exactly! And he knew it too."

They rode in silence the rest of the way there, each silently recalling days they had spent with Galaga Guy, or as they now knew him, Grayson Drake.

As soon as they got there, Brantley noticed Cam and Jason in a corner, just silently watching everyone as they one by one got up to go see Grayson.

Cam waved Brantley over, as Clyde went up to see Grayson. "What's up Cam?"

"Isn't this fascinating?" Cam asked, gesturing to the scene.

"Um, Cam, that's a little inappropriate."

"Just look Brantley." Jason urged, "Some of these people have actually placed something in the coffin, like a flower, or you can see your little friend over there, he's putting a game into the coffin."

Brantley looked up, to see Clyde putting a small hand held Tetris game into Galaga Guy's hands.

"Yes, as if they actually think he'll be able to use material possessions again." Cam chuckled.

"Okay, you guys better keep or voices down before someone here beat you up, and you know what? I'm gonna let them." Brantley said, rubbing her forehead as if she had a head ache coming on.

Jackson went up to Galaga Guy, pausing for a moment, then he pulled out two ten dollar bills, sticking them into the front pocket of the suit he had been placed in. Brantley had to admit, Grayson's coffin was pretty nice.

Jade walked up, dabbing tears away with the back of her wrist.

Natasha walked up, just stared at the corpse, then walked away.

Clint walked up to Brantley, "Hey kid."

"Hey."

"Did you know him?" Clint asked, "You know, other than the Galaga?"

"Not at all, you?"

"Nope."

Cam interjected, "Wow, you're really interesting, Hawkeye right?"

"Yes." Clint said, frowning, confused.

"Clint whatever you do, don't ask a question." Brantley urged.

Jason nodded, agreeing with Cam, "Yeah, you've both admitted you didn't really know Grayson, but you still show all this… remorse."

Clint paused, looking at Brantley, "You spend all day with these people?"

"Well… only on certain missions-"

"So why on Earth do you feel the need to keep up a ruse of sadness?" Cam asked.

"It's called empathy." Clint said, glaring at Cam.

Jason snorted, shaking his head at Clint, "You've got to spend all day with this guy Brant?"

"Ugh…" Brantley groaned.

Clint raised an eyebrow at Jason, "Yeah, this is my trainee, I'm the one who brought her in, not you."

Jason held his hands up in mock defense, "Better rain your poodle in Brant, it think's it's a pit bull."

"Jason, he will shoot you." Brantley warned, "And you're being an ass, so I'm gonna let him."

Jason snorted, "Sure, whatever."

Clint glared down at Jason, and Brantley put a hand on Clint's shoulder, "Come on Clint, just let it go, it's our turn to walk up anyway."

Clint grit his teeth, walking up towards the coffin with Brantley, "How can you stand those people? Their complete snobs."

"They're nice to me, for some reason." Brantley said, shrugging.

Clint paused, looking down at Grayson, "He would have put on a really big temper tantrum if he found out they put him in a suit."

"Really?" Brantley asked, "Did you know him?"

"A little." Clint said, shrugging, "He hated anything serious, that's why he was always playing that Galaga game."

Clint stepped away from the coffin, going to join Natasha, and she bit my lip, noticing the twenty dollars in his coat pocket. Brantley glanced over her shoulder to see if anyone was watching, and then took one of the ten dollar bills, slipping it into my pocket, "Consider us even…"

Brantley paused, what the heck?

She put her hand back over his shirt pocket, fingers prodding along his ribs. Oh my God… Brantley quickly bit her tongue, pulling her hand back, and walking away quickly over to the side of the room.

The funeral passed without much drama, a crying wife, traumatized children. Never knew he was married. Jade's heart went out to the now fatherless children, and she caught Brantley looking at them, not with pity like everyone else, but with understanding, respect, and hope. Jade remembered what she had heard Natasha and Clint talking about the day Brantley had come into their lives, and understood why Brantley would look at them like that.

After all, Brantley had been in their shoes not long ago, but she had a much worse flip of the coin, she had caused her fathers death, quite directly.

"How did he die?" Jackson whispered to Tyson.

"Heart attack." Was the answer.

Brantley cleared her throat, feeling uncomfortable. There was no way… but she had felt it, all of it! The squints of S.H.I.E.L.D. had done the autopsy, they don't make mistakes like that. Maybe it wasn't a mistake… Best to keep it to herself, if Direct Fury hinted at it later, best course of action would be to just pretend she had no idea what he was talking about.

That was the protocol for things like this, correct?

Jackson raised his glass in a toast, "To be honest, I didn't know Grayson that well, I mean, I just found out his real name today. I only knew him as Galaga Guy at first, really. But I remember enough about him, whenever you saw him, he was usually playing that game of his. I never once had a meaningful conversation with the guy. I never talked to him about missions, or training, ever. He was always there with a joke for everything, sometimes good, sometimes bad. Usually bad."

Everyone chuckled at that, raising their glasses in sync with Jackson. A lifetime of being with his father had taught him how to hold the attention of a crowd.

"But he was always there, you know? When you needed some reassurance that things were still normal around. He was the last guy we ever expected to go, ever. I would have expected to die before he did, actually." Jackson shook his head sadly.

Brantley felt a tap on her shoulder, and she looked to see Cam standing there, looking at her, grim. "Brantley, I need you to come with me."

Jade looked over at Cam too, shocked, then to Brantley, then back to Cam. What had Brantley done this time?

"We go through life, and we tend to take people like Grayson for granted." Jackson continued, and everyone in the room nodded in agreement.

Brantley sighed, "Is it about Grayson?"

Cam nodded solemnly, and Brantley followed her out of the room. Clint noticed the exchange, and silently followed as well. Cam led Brantley back into the room where Grayson was laying in his coffin, Jason was there as well, leaning up against the side, looking at her seriously.

Jason was the first to speak, "Brant, did you notice anything about the body?"

Brantley bit her lip, "Look, I'm not going to tell anybody, alright?"

Cam nodded, "We knew you wouldn't, but we need to know, what do _you _know?"

"… He died of a heart attack right?" Brantley asked. "Well, the EMT would have tried to revive him with CPR, but none of his ribs sustained any of the pressure fractures they should have."

"Anything else?" Jason asked. "We _need _to know."

"… I… kind of… I felt his heart beat." Brantley admitted.

Cam sighed, rubbing her eyes gently, as if trying to fend off a migraine. "Brantley, I know I don't need to tell you that S.H.I.E.L.D. has many secrets. This is one of them."

"… Does his family know?" She asked.

Jason spoke before Cam could, "Classified. After all, you're just a field agent."

Brantley bit her tongue lightly, refraining herself from giving Jason the smack in the mouth he needed. "Right, I'll keep my mouth shut."

Clint, ear pressed to the door, gritted his teeth. This is not how Brantley's time in S.H.I.E.L.D. was supposed to go, at all. The squints needed to get their noses back into their books.

**LATER, AT SHIELD:**

Cam looked up from her desk as she saw Hawkeye climb up the stairs to their platform, "Can I help you?"

Clint nodded, coming to stand in front of her, looking around at the various corpses, before turning his attention back to her. "You think I don't know what you're doing?"

Cam raised an eyebrow, and Clint shot a look over at Jason, nose buried in his microscope again. "What _both _of you are doing."

Jason paused, looking up from his work, "What would that be exactly? Working like we're supposed to?"

Clint crossed his arms, looking back at Cam, "Brantley, isn't a squint, she's my student."

Cam squared her jaw, lifting her chin, attempting to stare Clint down. "I've never said to the contrary."

"You've _acted _to the contrary." Clint said, "You're not just working with her on these missions the council has her on, you're _teaching _her."

Jason cleared his throat, "Sorry, it's just, I'm not to sure what you're implying, but that's not a bad thing. She's learning, rising above the average field agent status, unlike you."

Clint grabbed the front of Jason's lab coat, yanking him forward, "You listen, and listen well. I don't know why you two want to teach Brantley all this stuff, but it ends now."

Cam spoke up, "Alright, you know what else ends now? The macho showdown. You guys can lay them out on the table and measure on your own time. This is still _my _lab. Hawkeye, was it? Look, you have a problem with it, fine. We'll stop. But do you want to know why we treated Brantley different? Because we were sick and tired of being disrespected. So, we figured with these new kids you're all suddenly bringing in, we'd try to plant a seed. It worked, now there's at least one field agent that we get respect from. Her friends will notice her respect for us, and act the same eventually."

Jason nodded, "It's a classic domino affect, we just needed someone who didn't come in with a big shot attitude like you, but we didn't want someone like that Stark kid, he was convinced he was on our level. Brantley was the perfect choice, she wasn't brute force, but she wasn't as book smart as us. Now stop pitching a temper tantrum because we took away your toy."

Clint glared at him, "This little routine you two do, with using your brains to make others inferior, and coming out as the alpha dog that way? It won't work on me."

Cam crossed her arms at him, "And why's that."

"Because unlike you, I'm really god at pretending to be dumber than I am." Clint said, narrowing his eyes at her, "Brantley respects you both now, lay off with the lessons."

Cam held up her hand sin mock surrender, "It's done. I understand."

Clint nodded, leaving. Brantley was his student, not theirs.


	25. Merry Freakin' Christmas

Jade smiled, slinging her back pack over her shoulder, marching proudly down the hall. Tyson jogged to catch up with her, "Hey!"

"What's up Shugah?" Jade asked.

"Just wondering where you're off to with that huge back pack." Tyson said, smiling at her.

"Louisiana." Jade said, "You know, going home for Christmas break and all."

"Oh, that's what you're going for Christmas, huh? Sounds fun." Tyson said.

"What are ya'll up to for Christmas?" Jade asked.

"Well, me, Clyde, and Tama are staying here, Agent Hill actually got us a Christmas tree, and we're gonna exchange presents and all that, just the three of us." Tyson explained.

"Oh really?" Jade asked, "What are ya gettin' 'em?"

"I don't know." Tyson sighed, "I haven't done Christmas in years, that last Christmas present I got was a movie about little blue people, a nasty old wizard, and a magic flute."

"You mean smurfs?" Jade asked.

"I think so." Tyson said thoughtfully.

"Well what about Brantley?" Jade asked, "And Jackson?"

"You know Jackson's in Hawaii with his parents, and Brantley, who knows?" Tyson shrugged.

Jade sighed, "Ah tried to invite her down to Louisiana with me, but she said she had plans, wouldn't tell me nothin."

"And you didn't invite us? I'm hurt, Mrs. Texas." Tyson joked.

"Mah Parents would freak if I brought a boy home, no offence." jade said, stopping at the edge of the jet bay, "There's mah ride."

Tyson nodded, "I take is Black Widow's flying you home?"

"No, she can't fly a jet, it's on autopilot." Jade said, smiling "See you in two weeks Tyson."

Tyson leaned forward, pressing his nose against the side of her head, and took a deep breath through his nose.

"… Did you just sniff my hair?" Jade asked as he pulled away.

Tyson just grinned as he turned to leave, "I'm a man of odd interests Jade."

Jade just laughed, boarding the jet.

**ON A ROOFTOP IN NEW YORK:**

Brantley sat on the edge of the balcony to Marlo's apartment, smiling at the sight of Jason, his wife, and Marlo stringing golden garlands around the big green Christmas tree. Marlo laughed and giggled, and Marlo's mother turned on the old radio she Brantley knew used to be in her _own _mother's wagon. If Jason had it, that meant he had gone back to the circus.

All their family, her grandfather, all her aunts and uncles and cousins… and her mother. Where was she now? Marlo hadn't mentioned anything about a grandmother. Jason had always been the delinquent of the family, he had gotten Brantley into a lot of trouble when she was younger, and he held a grudge for a long time. She wouldn't be surprised if he was still angry at their mother for not being a better parent, and mad at her too for killing their father.

To be honest, she was still mad at herself for that.

She shivered, crossing her arms tighter as the snow continued to fall. She should have brought a jacket.

Marlo started dancing around the tree as Christmas songs started coming out of the radio, and Jason laughed, reaching up to put the angel on top of the tree. That used to be Brantley's dad's job.

Her father would put the angel on top, her mother would make popcorn garlands, Andy would cut ribbon and tie bows, William would hang up the Christmas stockings, and Brantley used to help her mother bake Christmas cookies. The ones that looked like Santa clause, bells, and stars.

Her grandfather always used to bring the oddest Christmas presents. He had given Brantley a preserved, dead, two headed snake in a jar for her sixth birthday. Her mother had scowled, disapproving on how Brantley's grandfather used to push her to be more of a boy than a girl. Brantley honestly didn't care, boy or girl, to her it wasn't what you are, it's who you are.

Marlo caught sight of Brantley, and quickly excused herself form her parents, darting out onto the balcony. "Guardian angel!"

Marlo's arms circled around Brantley quickly, "I missed you, you were gone so long."

"Only one month Marlo." Brantley corrected.

Marlo smiled, looking up at Brantley, "Well, I missed you anyway."

Brantley nodded, taking out three small bundles wrapped in newspaper, with names scrawled on them. "Go put these under the Christmas tree, none of you can open them until morning."

Marlo nodded, taking the three poorly wrapped presents. "When will I see you again?"

"I don't know."

Tonight was Christmas Eve, and tomorrow Marlo would rush out into the living room, and open presents, without a care in the world. And Brantley wouldn't be able to watch, or be with her family. Not really anyway.

**BACK AT S.H.I.E.L.D.:**

Clint frowned at Maria, "Where's Brantley?"

Maria looked up at him, "She didn't tell you? She took a week off. Said she just wanted to be alone for awhile. I figured the season was getting to her, most of us get it the same way."

Clint paused, "Did she say where she was going?"

"I respected her privacy." Maria shrugged off.

**WITH TYSON:**

I stared at the tree Maria had gotten us, it was about two feet tall, plastic, and it was white. Not even green, just… white. Guess it was supposed to look like snow.

Clyde looked up at me with disappointment in his eyes, "I thought Christmas was supposed to be pretty."

Tama nodded, "Yes, you said a Christmas tree was green, and living, and that it was colorful with pretty decorations."

I sighed, "Just give me two hours, I'll make it look better."

I had to make sure that Clyde had a good Christmas, it was his first one since being with those terrorists.

**IN LOUISIANA:**

Jade and her family sat around the Christmas tree, a few presents tucked underneath. They were all drinking cups of hot chocolate, humming Christmas songs, and enjoying each other's company.

**AT S.H.I.E.L.D.:**

Tyson smiled as Clyde and Tama stared in awe at the tree.

He had filled test tubes with different glowing chemicals, and stung them around the tree in patterns of red and green. He had snuck into Jade's room, and taken her earrings (which the girl had a lot) and had strung them up over the branches, making shiny Christmas ornaments.

"Alright, is this more like Christmas?" Tyson asked.

"Yeah!" They both agreed.

**WITH BRANTLEY:**

I watched as several of my cousins rode around the ring on unicycles, juggling flaming torches, and making corny jokes. Kids sitting around me laughed, clapping and cheering. Two of my aunts swung across the trapeze, flipping and catching each other easily. Her Uncle Richard and Cousin Henry rode bicycles across the high wire.

Brantley sighed, pulling her hood over her head a little tighter. "Nice show, don't you think?"

Brantley stiffened, biting her lower lip. She knew that voice, and she knew if she came here she'd probably see him. Her grandfather. "Uh, yeah."

"Is this your first time seeing our circus?" He asked.

Her grandfather did this all the time, tried to get to know his guests a little more, establish friendships, and encourage them to come again next time the circus was in town. Why did he have to target her?

"No, I've been here before." _Stupid! Why would you say that!? Get out of here, get out now, you never should have come! You __**killed **__his son in law, he hates you!_

"Let me be absolutely clear about one thing." Her grandfather said sternly, "Just because I'm old doesn't mean that I'm stupid, and even after all these years, I can still recognize my own flesh and blood."

Brantley trembled, and she looked over her shoulder, locking eyes with her grandfather. He smiled warmly at her, "It's about time you came home."

"I… I can't stay." Brantley offered weakly.

Her grandfather paused, staring at her. "We're family Brantley."

"I know." Brantley whispered, "But I still can't."

"Well, how long do you have?" He asked.

"About a week." Brantley admitted.

"Well then." Her grandfather said in a tone that she knew not to mess with, "I demand that you at least stay for tonight. It's Christmas Eve Brantley, and I haven't seen you in over three years."

"… Okay grandpa." Brantley said.

Her grandfather wrapped his arms around her in a hug, "Now quickly, before someone else recognizes you."

He ushered her into his trailer, sat her down at the table/booth that she used to sit at when she was younger, and set down a glass of hot apple cider in front of her. Just like her whole family used to do every Christmas.

"Now, what have you been up to Brantley?"

She sighed, "I'm not under authorization to tell you."

He raised an eyebrow, "Well, can you tell me anything?"

"I'm permitted to tell you I'm working for the government." Brantley said, "All the thing you ever taught me, they're really coming into play now. The knife throwing, the fighting, everything, it's saved my life, even before I started my… unusual career."

Her grandfather just sat there, staring, taking it all in, "Are you telling me, you're some kind of CIA agent?"

Brantley nodded, "Something like that."

"Since you're leaving tomorrow, when will you be back?"

"I don't know." Brantley admitted, "My job requires a lot of moving around, I'll be here one day, and in Russian the next."

They were both silent for a moment, until she sighed, "Look, I love you, I do. And I've missed you, and fought for you every day since I ran away from foster care, and I really, _really _wish that I could come back here, stay here, or at least tell you when I'll be back, or even that I _will _be back, but I can't."

Her grandfather nodded slowly, "It sounds like you're in deep here Brantley, are you sure you can get out if you want to?"

"Honestly, I don't think I'll ever want to." Brantley said, leaning back in her chair, taking a long steady drink form her cider glass. "I love my work to much."

Her grandfather chuckled, "You know, when you were younger, you're mother was always pushing you to be a big girly girl, dressing you in pink, putting your hair in ribbons and bows, but all you wanted to do was play with your G.I. Joes. Honestly, you're just to much like your daddy."

"Really?" Brantley asked. She had never though she looked much like her father, or acted much like him. He was always a performer at heart, he lived for the circus ring. Now that she was older, Brantley finally understood that was never what she was. She was a soldier.

"You might not believe it, but when your father was a young man, he was a hardheaded idiot who was always running into fights half cocked." He laughed.

"My father?" Brantley asked, eyebrows raised. She had never even seen her father raise his voice to anyone. He had been a pacifist, he was a vegetarian!

"Back when he was younger at least." He amended. Her grandfather raised his glass, "Alright, now, here's to one hell of a crazy year."

Brantley raised hers as well, "You have _no _idea."

"And hopefully, a lot more to come." He finished.

They tapped their glasses together, drowning the rest of their cider.

**CHRISTMAS MORNING:**

Jade and her family enjoyed Christmas like they always did, and it wasn't until two days later Jade discover a small wooden carving of a woman jade assumed to be Annie Oakley in her duffle bag, wrapped in newspapers.

She smiled, and nearly laughed obviously intended at the irony. "Merry Christmas to you too Brantley."

Tama had brought Tyson and Clyde both daggers from Asguard, she told them they were made in the fires of Hell itself. The boys thanked her, and sincerely hoped it was a joke.

Tyson had given Tama a handmade compass he had made himself, which she was easily fascinated with. Tyson gave Clyde a remote control robot that he had also made himself.

"Bruce helped a lot." Tyson admitted.

Clyde gave Tama a stuffed teddy bear, and Tyson a lighter with his name scratched on it. Tyson couldn't help but just hug the life out of Clyde. Because honestly, Clyde was the cutest thing sometimes.

Brantley spent most of Christmas morning on a balcony, watching Marlo rip through presents, until she finally brought out the ones wrapped in newspaper. Jason and his wife could never figure out who Marlo got the presents from, but Marlo was happy when she found out her guardian angel had gotten her a plastic bow with suction cup arrows.

Jason's wife Sarah was puzzled about the slat and pepper shakers in the shape of clowns, but no one was hit as hard as Jason, when he opened his gift from the 'guardian angel' and found it was a small, golden throwing knife.

He had jumped off the couch, and nearly screamed. Because this was one of the show knives his only sister used to use in her act. When Andy and Will came over later for Christmas dinner, they would all finally know that their sister was still alive, and Marlo knew where she was.

Brantley didn't stay on the balcony that long though, after Jason had opened his gift and thoroughly freaked out, Brantley had felt a hand on her shoulder.

Clint stood next to her, "Having a good holiday?"

"Not really."

Clint just nodded, "Come on, how about some Thai food, on me."

"You know I've got money right? I get paid for the missions I go on, just like you."

Clint just laughed, "Come on, can't a hero just buy his side kick Christmas lunch?"

"Fine." She said, following him, jumping and gliding across the rooftops.

**AT SHIELD, WITH THE SQUINTS:**

Jason had his nose buried in his microscope, as usual, when Cam approached him. He didn't even look up when she asked, "So, how's your Christmas going?"

Jason shrugged, a skill he had to learn when he first started out. Shrugging while looking through a microscope could gouge your eyes out if you weren't careful. The trick was to pull your head back just a millimeter and shrug them slowly. "I have thirteen different samples of sediment to identify, from thirteen different lakes, to find out which lake a body was dumped into, seven barrels of compost to shift through to find the missing hand of John Doe 23, and five different mineral samples to identify. That last one is just for kicks and giggles. You?"

Cam shrugged as well, "Four different bodies to identify, I think I can pull finger prints off one, the other three, I'm going to have to use facial reconstruction. And God knows that takes a long time. Three hours for each at best. Then I have to go through twenty one boxes of partial remains to find out which ones are human. Other than that, it's a holly jolly Christmas."

Jason chuckled, "Well, merry freakin' jingle bell rock to you."

"Cheers?" Cam asked.

Jason finally looked up, seeing her holding two cups of hot chocolate. He stared at the mug she offered him for a moment, before taking it with a small smile. They each took a sip, before giving each other a small smile.

"Merry Christmas Jason."

"Merry Christmas Cam."


	26. PMS Princess

They were all lined up, facing forward, standing at attention, watching as Agent hill paced in front of them. Clyde fidgeted nervously, not sure if he was going to like Agent Hill as much as Captain America.

Jackson slouched in his stance, choosing to just not care about anything that was going on. It was just a training session, they've all been in them before.

The rest were standing at attention, Tyson and Tama following Agent Hill with their eyes, Jade and Brantley facing forward, not looking.

"As I am now you're official handler, and let me make one thing clear to you right now." She stopped in front of Jade, glaring right at her. "I do _not _want to be here."

She kept walking, stopping in front of Tama, "I am not your _babysitter_."

She stopped in front of Clyde, "I am not your _mother_."

She stopped in front of Tyson, "I am not your _friend_."

She stopped in front of Jackson, "What I _am_, is your _boss_, and I demand respect, because each and every one of you, I can take blindfolded."

She stopped in front of Brantley, "And I expect, from each and every one of you, absolute dedication, and perfection."

She turned around, walking back down the line, "If you want to know if you have clearance to a case, you go through me. If you've taken an emotional interest in a case, you tell me. If you think it would be a better idea to bring someone in instead of kill them, don't even ask me, just kill them."

Jade frowned, Clint had brought in Natasha, her mentor. If Natasha hadn't been brought in, she would be dead. Naturally Hill's statement steamed Jade a bit, seeing as she had come to care for Natasha as an older sister.

Brantley just stared straight ahead, hanging onto every word, but not responding. Jackson looked like he could care less, but was intrigued by the idea this woman thought she could take him.

"And as my first act as your handler, your test for getting into S.H.I.E.L.D. will not be a training session." Agent Hill said, staring over at them all. "You'll be going on a real mission, with real life or death stakes."

They all exchanged glances, before Tyson spoke up, "Uh, Ma'am, I'm not sure that all of us are ready for that, I mean, I don't have a problem with it, but, Clyde-"

"Can speak for himself." Agent Hill said firmly.

Clyde was silent.

"Alright then." Agent Hill said, holding up a file. Brantley's eyes skimmed over the cover, seeing that unlike the regular light brown color, it was black. She knew what that meant. " Here I have your mission information. Seeing as this is a real mission, you'll be needing a leader-"

"Dibs." Jackson said.

Agent Hill glared at him, "And I've selected the obvious choice."

She held the file out to Brantley, "Agent Evans, you're mission leader."

Jackson sputtered, "What!?"

"You heard her." Tyson said warningly as Brantley crossed her arms.

"Yeah." Brantley said, "Sorry, I'm not the leader type, I'm the takes orders type. Can someone else do it? Jade?"

Jade's eyebrows shot up, "Uh, actually, Ah'm good. Ah don't really like all the responsibility of being leader and all."

Jackson piped up, "I'll do it!"

Tyson nodded, "Yeah, and I don't really wanna do it either. I mean, I can barely control my own fire, so I'm out."

Jackson huffed, "I already said, I'll do it."

Tama held her chin high, "I believe that although I am fully capable in battle, I am not suited to leading a troop."

Jackson stood army style, giving a small salute, "For the good of the mission and my team, I volunteer to be leader! Ma'am!"

Clyde shuffled his feet a little, "Um, Leader? Nah, I'm just the medic."

Jackson groaned, "For the love of-"

Agent Hill turned to Brantley, "Well, you're still my pick. Unless you want Jackson to-"

"Fine." She said, taking the file from her, "I'll review the mission, and be out by tomorrow."

Agent Hill nodded, "By tomorrow, got it. I'll alert Nick Fury. As a side note, none of you are allowed to have any contact with your mentors, you're meant to do this entirely on your own. If there's one slip up on this mission, you're all back at square one."

Agent Hill walked out, leaving them in the Rec. room.

Jackson huffed, "You've gotta be kidding me, why can't I be leader!?"

"Because you're twelve." Tyson said.

"If age is considered, you should be leader." Jackson protested, "Not Brantley!"

"Okay fine." Tyson said, "Let's put it this way, you're a huge know it all, and none of us feel comfortable taking orders from you!"

Tama nodded, "Aye, thou dost outmatch myself in age, but never shall I take orders from you."

Jackson crossed his arms as Brantley sat down at the table, flipping through the file, Jade and Tyson sitting down on either side of her. "Why does everybody suddenly hate me?"

Clyde shrugged, "I don't hate you."

Jackson looked down at Clyde, before sighing. "Well, it's something at least."

Brantley piped up, nose deep in the file, "You guys need to get code names by the way."

Tyson smiled, "I'm Kerosene."

Tama smiled, "Tama!"

Clyde hopped up and down, excitedly, "Oh! Oh! I'm Bucky!"

Tyson raised an eyebrow, "Bucky?"

"Captain America came up with it." Clyde explained.

Jackson smirked, "I've been thinking about it, and I like the name Awesome God Of Everything."

"No." Everyone said simultaneously.

Jason huffed, "Fine, I'm out of ideas now. Thanks people."

"Anytime." Brantley said halfheartedly.

Clyde peeked over Brantley's shoulder, "What's the mission about anyways?"

Brantley pointed to the picture, "We've got to either bring this guy in, or kill him. Which is why Clyde and Tama are not going to be apart of the initial attack."

Jade nodded, "Makes sense, the others?"

"I'll make up a plan once I read over the whole thing." Brantley explained, "You don't have to do this, I'll brief you all on the important things when we head out tomorrow."

Jade shook her head, "Naw, I'll stay up with ya, it's the kids that need to go get some sleep."

Tyson nodded, standing up, "Alright, I'll get the kids to bed, and then bring you guys coffee."

Brantley nodded, "Thanks."

Tyson led Clyde and Tama out, and a protesting Jackson. Jade chuckled a little, "Ah cant help but think, if we were all siblings, then Jackson is that problem child that thinks he's an adult."

"And who would I be?"

"That weird, quiet, kid that everyone secretly worries 'bout." Jade said.

"Aw, thank you." Brantley said sarcastically.

"So, why do we kill this guy?" Jade asked.

"He's a leak, went rogue and supplied a lot of deep intel for AIM." Brantley said, "He worked for S.H.I.E.L.D., in the special ops division, like me."

"Oh." Jade said, "So, he's pretty deadly, right?"

"That's just the thing." Brantley said, "He wasn't here long, only three weeks. They never got full stats on him, not even a physic evaluation."

Jade smiled eagerly, taking the picture form her, "Then by all means, allow me."

Jade scanned over the picture, "Wow, this guy was insane."

"How can you tell?" Brantley asked.

"His eyes." Jade said, "His face is perfect-"

"No crushing on the target Jade." Brantley warned.

"Shut up!" Jade snapped. "I mean, it's a perfect mask. He's got a good poker face, even better than the one you wear all the time."

Brantley gave Jade a half hearted glare, and Jade just rolled her eyes, "Calm down Brantley, it's just an example."

Brantley just gave Jade a warning look, "I don't like being profiled Jade."

"Ah know." Jade said, "Moving on, this guy keeps himself together pretty good, but you can tell by his eyes, he was ready to kill everyone on this helicarrier."

"Well, I feel like that some days." Brantley said, "Doesn't mean I'm going to do it."

"Yer a girl Brantley, that need to go on a massacre, as long as it only happens once a month, is excusable." Jade batted off. "Besides, Ah'd know if you were insane, and yer not, yer just a bit… angry."

"Well that's not my fault!" Brantley protested.

Jade nodded, "No, not your fault, I mean, after all we're both in a really stressful position, expected to train really hard, every day. We're two teenage girls, that they expect to be able to take down big groups of fully grown men, with our bare hands!"

Brantley piped in, "Exactly! And these people who expect us to do that, are mostly men! And they make it obvious that they can take us down, every day!"

Jade paused, "Ah have no idea what kind of training Hawkeye puts ya through… and Ah'm not sure Ah wanna know."

"He expects me to take down nine S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, then take him on in a one on one, every day!" Brantley complained. "And that's just the _warm up_!"

Jade cringed, "Oh… Do you ever-"

"No! I always manage to take out the other agents, but him, it's like trying to catch water!" Brantley complained. "And on top of that, every guy here is completely sexist!"

"Exactly!" Jade agreed, "Ah have to smack Jackson everyday for something he's said about women!"

"And Tyson is no different!" Brantley said.

"W-What do ya mean?" Jade asked, this information being new to her.

"The other day he asked me why I don't wear the standard S.H.I.E.L.D. uniform." Brantley asked.

"No!" Jade said, "Tyson said that?"

"Yes." Brantley said firmly.

"There's nothing wrong with yer uniform." Jade encouraged.

Brantley nodded, gesturing down to her clothes, normal blue jeans and a black muscle shirt. "Exactly. Which is why I punched him in the mouth."

"Did you get it on video, cause Ah wanna watch it!"

"It was caught by a security camera." Brantley offered.

"Ah'm so getting Jackson to hack it for me." Jade said, glaring at the though of Tyson saying something like that.

Tyson entered the room, carrying to coffee mugs, "Hey girls, got you some coffee."

"Why!?" Brantley snapped as Tyson set the cups down. "You think we can't stay up by ourselves?"

Tyson raised an eyebrow, "No, I just-"

"Ya know, Ah've gone hog huntin' since Ah was nine, I've had to stay up for three nights straight, with no caffeine in sight." Jade said, glaring at Tyson.

Tyson took a step back, "I'm not saying that you can't, I just wanted to help."

"Oh yes, cause we so need help from you, cause we're just _girls _right?" Brantley growled.

Tyson opened his mouth to say something, but Jade stopped him, "Ya know, in lion packs, the girls do all the huntin."

"Yeah." Brantley seconded, "And all the guys do is sit around on their asses all day."

"And eat the cubs when they get cranky." Jade snapped.

Tyson swallowed a little, "Alright, before I go run for my life, do you girls need anything-"

"WHY WOULD WE NEED ANYTHING FROM YOU!?"

Tyson made a mad sprint out of the room, "I'm sorry!"

After he left, Jade turned to Brantley, "Uh, Ah feel a little bad, should we apologize to him?"

"Nah, I don't think so." Brantley waved off, "Just give me anything you can from his file, and I'll go over this map of the facility they think he's in."

"Alright, Ah'll do what Ah can."


	27. Good Team

"Alright." Brantley said to the others as she took her place behind the Jet's controls. "This is a simple mission, Tyson, Clyde, and Tama, you guys are entering the facility through entrance B, he's got rooms full of men with guns. Lots of guns. Watch yourselves. Clyde, needless to say, you stay out of the fight, you're the medic in case Tyson and Tama get hurt, understood?"

Clyde nodded, and Tyson spoke up, "No worries Brantley, I'll keep an eye on them both."

"Good, Jackson, me and you are gonna be the first ones to enter the building, you know where the central control room is?" Brantley asked.

"I downloaded the map into my system." Jackson assured, "I get into the control room, shut off any alarms, and then as soon as I'm done, I give you guys the word to come in, then go down and help out with the fight."

"Good." Brantley said. "Jade, you're-"

"Going up to the top room where our target is, and take him out." Jade recited.

"Right." Brantley said, "And remember, I've gotta get to our target's personal computer and-"

"Get his files on S.H.I.E.L.D.." Jackson jumped in. "And see who he's sent the information to. You're the only one allowed to do that, because the information is classified, and your payroll is way above ours. We understand."

"Yeah." Jade assured, "We know you'll get down to the fight as soon as possible, no need to feel guilty about us having to deal with it."

Brantley nodded, "Sure Jade."

Jade bit her tongue, she knew Brantley had a tendency to blame herself for everything. If anything went wrong on this mission, Brantley would never forgive herself.

By the time they got to where his base was, Jade was sure that Brantley was close to wetting herself. Brantley was a rare character, if you threatened to kill her, she's hardly bat an eyelash, but threaten to kill anyone else, even someone she doesn't know, and she'd start sweating bullets.

It was times like this that made Jade wonder how long Brantley was just going to think of Clint as a teacher. How long would it take Brantley too look at Clint as a father figure? Everyone knew she needed one, the girl was a mess.

Brantley shot a grappling hook arrow up, scaling the wall slowly, trying not to make any noise. When she was halfway up the wall, Jackson flew up past her, laughing over the com link, "How's that spy thing working for ya?"

"Show off." Brantley growled, scrambling onto the roof, where Jackson was waiting for her. Brantley quickly started scraping through the snow covering the roof, "Alright, according to reports there was a- aha! Found it."

Brantley yanked the trap door open, dropping down into the darkness. Jackson followed her, creeping down halls, until they got into the control room. "Alright Jackson, you're up."

Jackson plugged into the computer, "Alright, alarms are down, motion detectors are down, cameras are down, everything's ready to go."

"That fast?" Brantley asked, eyes wide. "Why do I have a feeling that my private information isn't safe?"

"Oh trust me it is." Jackson said, "I've tried to get information on you, but ever since Fury found out I can hack into S.H.I.E.L.D.'s private files, he's kept all top secret stuff on paper. Including you."

Brantley cleared her throat, and Jackson snorted, "Sorry to tell ya, but your not fooling anyone Longshot, we all know you aren't just some one Clint picked up, you've got a history, and I'm dying to know."

"Jackson, my past is one of those, I'd tell you why but then I'd have to kill you, kind of deals." Brantley mumbled.

"Oh, wow. Now I'm curious." Jackson chuckled.

Jade's voice came over the com link, "Uh, guys, sorry to interrupt this little chat, but are we good to come in?"

"Yes." Jackson said, "I'll meet you guys down in the fight."

Jackson stood up to leave and Brantley cleared her throat again, "Jackson, just be careful."

"Sure thing." Jackson waved off.

"I mean it Iron Clad." Brantley said sternly, "Team comes first."

"Iron Clad huh? Not bad." Jackson commented, before taking off.

Brantley sighed, "Jade, can you hear me?"

"Ah read ya loud and clear." Jade answered. "On mah way to the top. How's the information coming?"

Brantley's eyes skimmed over the screen, "Huh, that's weird."

"What?"

"He's sold really small amounts of information to very minor points on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s radar, but the bulk of his info hasn't even been touched." Brantley mused. "It's… odd. I think he might have been planning to take over S.H.I.E.L.D. himself, not just sell the info."

Jade piped up, "Uh, Brantley, not that your information isn't important, but there's no one up here."

Brantley froze, "He's gone?"

"Yep." Jade confirmed.

"Oh no." Brantley groaned, jumping out of her chair and rushing down to the fight, "Jade get downstairs!"

The minute Brantley got to the fight, she saw Tama, Tyson, and Jackson all rushing around, taking men out in a manner that honestly made her proud to be on their team.

Jade joined her, and three men rushed at the two girls. Brantley took out her knife, "This is reason."

The first man jumped at her, and Brantley bent over backwards, him sailing over her. Jade kicked him as he hit the ground, and then immediately launched herself at the next one, punching his throat, and kneeing his stomach, then grabbed his head and one arm, flipping him over her hip.

As soon as he hit the ground, Brantley jumped on top of him, sinking her knife into his neck, "You set 'em up, I'll take 'em out."

"Got it." Jade said, tripping the next man, making him fall right towards Brantley, who quickly reached up with one hand, grabbing his jaw and twisting it sharply to the side, snapping his neck.

Two men came at Jade at the same time, grabbing her arms. She kicked one in the face, while Brantley body tackled the other one, sinking her knife into his thigh.

Jade took out a gun, firing two shots into each ones head, they fell limp.

Brantley stood up, and Tyson yelped, a man tackling him to the ground. Jade and Brantley each held up their weapons, firing. A bullet in his head, and an arrow in his neck.

"Uh, thanks girls." Tyson said gratefully.

They all looked around, seeing the men all down, and Brantley frowned, "Where's Clyde?"

Everyone looked around, searching for the spiky haired blonde. Brantley's eyes widened, "Where's Clyde!?"

Tyson started panicking, "I… I don't know-"

"You were supposed to watch him!" Brantley snapped, looking around, and catching a look of the open door, icy wind blowing in from the outside. "Oh no."

She raced outside, their target was holding Clyde, knife pressed to his throat. "Clyde!"

Clyde looked at Brantley helplessly, and Brantley loaded her bow, taking aim at her target. "Put him down, and I'll take you in alive."

He laughed, "Great bargaining skills kid."

Clyde shivered, scared out of his mind. "Brantley-"

"Shut up!" The man barked, pressing the knife to his throat tighter.

"Just keep calm Clyde." Brantley said.

The man laughed again, "Well, there's your mommy kid, now you, girl with the bow, why did S.H.I.E.L.D. send kids after me? I'm a dangerous man."

"You're a haywire." Brantley corrected.

"I could kill your little friend right here, without even thinking about it-"

Jade popped up out of nowhere, grabbing his hand with the knife, and twisting it harshly, making him drop it. She punched him in the face, and he grabbed her by her hair, twisting it in his fist, making her scream out a the pain, and then used his grip on it to flip her over his shoulder.

He took off, and Jade sat up in the snow, "Brantley, shoot him!"

Brantley froze, her target locked in her sights, perfect conditions, nothing holding her back. But she couldn't take the shot.

"Shoot him!" Jade said again.

"Shoot him!" Tyson shouted.

Brantley didn't move, she couldn't. She just kept seeing that drug dealer she was supposed to kill from a rooftop, not being able to shoot him.

"Oh for the love of God!" Jackson shouted, slapping his mask down, and flying after the target, shooting at him, until he fell down into the snow, staining the white ice with red blood.

Tyson rushed past her, heading for Clyde, "Why didn't you shoot him!?"

For the first time in a long time, Brantley felt like crying.

The ride back to S.H.I.E.L.D. was tense, and Brantley knew everyone blamed her. Jackson, a twelve year old boy, had to step up and kill a man, because Brantley had chickened out.

The mission report was given in front of Agent Hill, General Fury, and the Avengers. Brantley kept her eyes straight forward, not looking at any of them, because she knew they would all be mad at her. Jackson shouldn't have had to kill that man. Jackson was just a kid!

And Jackson was starting to realize that. He was shaking where he stood, trembling. The reality was setting in, he had killed a man.

Fury dismissed them, and Tony immediately hugged his son, leading him away to take him home. Tony purposely bumped Brantley's shoulder as he passed her, it took all of his self restraint not to just grab her and throw her off the helicarrier altogether.

Everyone filed out of the room, shooting look at Brantley, they had thought she was the strongest one of those kids.

Clint put a hand on her shoulder, not really sure how to comfort her other than that. "Uh Brantley, look, we'll work on it, okay?"

That was all he could offer, teaching.

"Sure Clint." Brantley mumbled, shrugging his hand off and leaving the room.

Natasha approached Clint, "Don't you think you should tell her?"

Clint shook his head, "No."

**LATER, AT THE SHOOTING RANGE:**

Clyde approached Brantley, watching her as she fired off arrows at the target. Each one hit the center dead on.

"You want something Clyde?" Brantley asked.

"I just… I'm sorry." Clyde said, shuffling his feet nervously. "If I hadn't tried to run after him, then-"

"You made a call." Brantley interrupted, "I would have done the same thing."

"You would have?" Clyde asked.

Brantley nodded, putting her bow and arrows down, "They all think he grabbed you and ran outside, but I knew what happened. You ran after him, not because you wanted to be in the spot light, you just wanted everyone to stop treating you like a kid."

Clyde nodded, "Yeah… I just, every keeps down sizing me, and I just wanna-"

"You wanna be treated like me." Brantley finished.

Clyde nodded. "Yes, no one baby-sits you."

Brantley sighed, "Clyde, you do realize, I don't like being treated like me. Everyone expected me to take that shot, I couldn't do it."

"Why not?" Clyde asked.

"I just… I don't know." Brantley mumbled. "But, I saw your intentions with out target. You weren't afraid of dying, you were afraid that you had ruined the mission. You've got heart Clyde, I'll give you that."

Clyde nodded, "Thanks."

They were silent for awhile, until Brantley spoke up again, "You know, the amazing thing is, none of the others will ever know."

Clyde paused, "Know what?"

"How much harder it is for us." Brantley mumbled, "Jade and Tyson's superpowers help them fight, and Jackson got a new suit of armor form his dad that fights for him. They get more and more powerful… all of them."

Brantley picked her bow and arrow back up, aiming, and shooting. The arrow missed the center, hitting the very outer rim of the target, she sighed. "They'll never know how hard it is to be the one who has to work for what they want, to really strain. But I know, I see more than anybody realizes, because I watch from a different angle than they do."

She looked Clyde in the eyes, holding his gaze, "I saw you on that mission, I saw how badly you wanted to help,, to fight, to not just be a medic. But Clyde, you aren't special."

Clyde dropped his gaze, tears prickling in the corners of his eyes. So Brantley was just like the others, she didn't believe in him either. "You're extraordinary."

Clyde looked up, eyes wide. Brantley smiled, "And you're going to do great things one day."

She took out her knife, handing it to him, "Here, you're gonna need this."

He unsheathed it, reading the inscription, "Draw me not without reason, sheath me not without honor. What's that mean?"

Brantley just smiled at him, "I guess you're gonna have to figure that out."

Brantley picked up her bow and arrows, "See ya Clyde."

She walked up the stairs, down the hall, and knocked on General Fury's door. She heard a load groan, "It better be a matter of nuclear warfare!"

Brantley couldn't find it in her to laugh. She opened the door, "No sir, something a lot less drastic."

Fury sighed, "Agent Evans, what do you want?"

"I want to quit S.H.I.E.L.D. Special Ops."

Fury's eyebrows shot up, and he slowly leaned back in his chair, watching her intently. A long moment of silence passed between the two. Fury didn't want to lose Brantley, she was so young, and already showing so much potential. She was a good soldier, she had heart, and she wasn't afraid to be a sacrificed pawn in the chess game of life, as long as she was going out protecting someone else. That's more than he could say for most of his agents.

Not only that, if Brantley left, Clint would most likely blame it on himself. He had a bad habit of doing that, a bad habit that rubbed off on Brantley. Did one bad mission make Brantley quit?

"Well, that's… unexpected."

Brantley nodded, "I'd like a reassignment."

"To what branch?"

"S.H.I.E.L.D. Investigations."

Nick nodded, "Sure, but why?"

Brantley let out a shaky breath, "I just… I'm not Hawkeye. I don't think I'll ever be him."

General Fury nodded, "And being in S.H.I.E.L.D. Investigations allows you to be Longshot, not Hawkeye."

"Exactly."

General Fury nodded, "Alright, but you should know something, requardless of your individual performance, you led one damn fine mission. All of you, you're a good team."


	28. Wrong Side Of The Road

Jade gaped at her friend, "You're reassigned to what?"

"S.H.I.E.L.D. Investigations." Brantley repeated, "You know, I'll be working with the squints, solving cold cases, etc."

"Yeah, but… why?" Jade asked, "I mean, you were trained for S.H.I.E.L.D. Special Ops."

"And I'm choosing S.H.I.E.L.D. Investigations." Brantley said, finishing off her hot pocket. "Don't make it weird Jade, I like working with the squints, they're jerks, and stuck up, but hey, whose not?"

Jade groaned, "Aren't the squints the ones who pissed, like, everyone off at Grayson's funeral?"

"Wanna know something even more disturbing?" Brantley asked, "They didn't even realize they were doing it. They thought they were behaving appropriately."

Jade's eyes widened, "Really?"

"They sacrificed people skills for ridiculously high IQ's." Brantley laughed.

Brantley's phone lit up, and she held it up to her ear, "Agent Evans."

"_You need to get down here, now."_ Cam's voice stressed.

Brantley nodded, "Gotta go Jade."

Brantley ran all the way to the Forensics platform, "Hope you got a juicy one for me Cam! I'm back in the game."

Jason actually looked up from his microscope, "Wow, with a new uniform an everything, huh?"

"Yeah, I heard. Try not to get to excited over murder Brantley." Cam warned.

"Yeah, yeah Came, not excited, just… uh, ready and willing." Brantley batted off, looking down at her new uniform, a suit. "Ya, I hate the new uniform too."

"So don't wear it." Jason advised, "You're a teenager, defy the man a little."

"Jason, it's her first day on the job." Cam warned, looking Brantley up and down, "And the suit looks fine."

"Conformist, but just fine." Jason added.

"That's enough Jason." Cam said firmly. "And Brantley, I hope you're in the mood for rail roads."

"Rail Roads?"

**HALF AN HOUR LATER:**

Brantley stood beside Cam as she leaned over the rail road tracks, a few other Investigations agents bumping around, looking around the train tracks.

"The guy who called this in was doing regular track maintenance, though these bones were the remains of a deer." Brantley told Cam.

Cam scoffed, picking up the jaw bone, pointing at the teeth. "These teeth look nothing like a deer! See, that is a perfect demonstration why our country's education is slipping."

"Yes, because our country's number one priority should be making sure to teach everyone how to recognize skeletal remains by their teeth." Brantley said sarcastically. "So, this guy was tossed out of a train?"

Cam shook her head, "No, if he was, he wouldn't be on the train tracks, he would be away from the tracks, scattered around in nearby foliage."

Brantley paused, "Drunk? Suicide!"

"Don't make assumptions." Cam chided. "Wait until we have all the variable to start solving the equation."

"I was never one for math." Brantley mumbled.

Cam sighed, "Well, there's no sign of hemorrhaging, so the victim was dead before he was hit by the train."

"You know, I'm getting my own office tomorrow." Brantley said.

"These remains were dragged by the train, and scattered over several miles." Can said, "All the trains need to be told not to run on these tracks until we get all of the bones."

"Got it." Brantley said, "I'll just text Agent Hill, and she'll send out the orders."

"You still report to Agent Hill?" Cam asked.

"Well, yeah, I'm still part of the team." Brantley explained, "I'm just working in a different area of interest."

Cam nodded, "Seems to me like Fury isn't willing for you to quit Special Ops."

Brantley paused, "What?"

"Well, going from your new rank, you're of no use on a response team." Cam explained, "Sounds like Fury still wants you in Special Ops."

"Well I didn't expect him to take the news well." Brantley shrugged.

"Hmm. How'd Clint take it?" Cam asked.

"He just stared at me when I told him, and then went down to the shooting range." Brantley admitted, "So, not well."

Cam nodded, "He seemed like a man who looked down on anyone who couldn't hold their own in a fight against him."

"Clint's not like that." Brantley protested, "He's a good guy, he just…" Brantley paused, sighing. "I guess he just expected more from me, that's all."

Cam held up a bone, "There's a cist on this femur, the result of a parasitic condition that's extremely uncommon in the US."

Brantley jabbed her pen at it, "Immigrant, illegal!"

Cam picked up a pelvis bone, "Well, judging from this, it's male."

Brantley nodded, "Okay, how old?"

Cam pointed to the femur, "Take a look, what do you think?"

Brantley squinted at it, "The fusion around where the knee should be tell me he was in his late teens… just a kid."

Cam nodded, "Very good, and for the record, you're just a kid."

"Yeah Cam, sure."

"The bones suggest a rugged lifestyle, even for an immigrant. I need to get these back to the lab." Cam said, placing the few bones she had into a cardboard box.

**BACK AT THE LAB:**

Brantley walked over to Jason, holding a box, "Here Jason, Cam found bone shards in this, uh-"

"Flora!" Jason said excitedly, pulling the small dead bushel out of the box, "Oh Brant you shouldn't have!"

Brantley paused, staring at Jason, "Dude, how excited you get over a bush? Its… its weird man."

Jason shrugged, "I am a man of odd interests."

Brantley paused, "Hey, Jason, the clothing scraps we found, they were hand stitched, like his mom made them. That makes it sadder somehow."

Jason looked at her, "Are you okay?"

Brantley sighed, "His age, where we found his body… it makes me feel like we're dealing with a runaway."

"So?"

"I was a runaway." Brantley added softly.

Jason's eyes widened, "Oh… Oh! Uh, you ran away from home?"

Brantley shook her head, "No, I ran away from foster care."

Cam looked up from the examination table, casting a look at Jason. Brantley had never talked about her past to them before. Jason and Cam had just assumed it was private, that she hadn't even told her friends. Cam had a hunch she had told Clint though, the bond between them was unmistakable. How quickly Clint had jumped to her defense when he thought there was something wrong… Cam could see he was trying to be a father to the girl.

Brantley sighed, "I made it, but… this kid didn't."

Jason cast a helpless look at Cam. Cam got the message, "Uh, Brantley, I have something that might help you with identification!"

Brantley nodded, "Alright, what's up?"

Cam tossed Brantley the skull, "Take a look at the dental work."

Brantley examined the teeth, "Uh, his cavities look weird…"

"His water wasn't filtered." Cam answered, "The reason they look deformed is because of the sediment and other flaws in his drinking water. He may very well have been from a different country, like you assumed."

Brantley nodded, "There's something else too, there's no sign of pesticides being in any foods he ate, or processed food."

Cam frowned, "Really? I… must have missed that."

Jason chuckled, "Kid's getting quick. Better watch your back Cam, Fury might have her replace you."

Cam glared at Jason, "But, the geology of his bones matched the mid-Atlantic states."

"I don't get it." Brantley admitted.

"Our victim was a teenage boy, who died two months ago, but according to the data he grew up in the early eighteen hundreds." Cam said, "Nothing adds up."

Brantley paused, staring off into space. Jason and Cam cast looks at each other, before Jason poked her shoulder, "Uh, Brant?"

Brantley smiled, "I've got it! He died two months ago, was in his late teens, and found in the mid-Atlantic states!"

"I just said that." Cam pointed out.

"But I know why!" Brantley persisted, "He was Amish!"

Jason paused, "Oh."

Cam stared at Brantley, "Amish.. How did I not… see that."

Brantley shrugged, "Look, I'm gonna check missing persons from the last two months, and check for Amish teenage boys."

She walked out of the lab, dialing a number.

Jason turned to Cam, "Well, I think we're raising her right."

Cam shook her head, "Clint's raising her right. I'll say one thing for that soldier, he's got an interesting angle of observation."

**WITH CLINT A THE SHOOTING RANGE:**

Natasha gave Clint a look, "Are you pretending to shoot Brantley or the squints?"

Clint sighed, "A combination of both actually."

Natasha rolled her eyes, "What do you have against he being in Investigations? Investigations helps catch cold case murderers."

Clint shot another arrow, "Despite the fact that S.H.I.E.L.D. Investigations has the same level of authority an FBI Agent!?"

"So you're worried about her career choices?" Natasha asked.

"She's not going to get anywhere in Investigations!" Clint complained. "She'll never take down a dictator, or bring peace to a third world country, or-"

"Or any of the stuff you do ever other week?" Natasha asked.

"Yeah!" Clint agreed.

Natasha shot him a look, "Clint, think about what you just said."

"… Oh." Clint mumbled.

"Exactly." Natasha smirked, "You want her to be a mirror of you."

"She is a mirror of me!" Clint protested. "You tell me, Agent hill tells me, Fury tells me, even Galaga Guy told me! All the time, all of you!"

Natasha sighed, "Just because her skills and personality mirror yours, doesn't mean she's going to choose to same way to apply herself."

"Well she should." Clint mumbled.

"Maybe she would if you told her." Natasha prodded.

"If I tell her the truth, she'll flip out and try to kill me!" Clint snapped, "And I know, because I would have done the same thing! Natasha, if I was in her shoes, and I found out, I would hate me… she would hate me."

Natasha shrugged, "Maybe she would, but at least she'll respect your honesty."

Clint gave Natasha a look, "Things like that only happen on TV."

Natasha stared at Clint, "Is something else bothering you?"

Clint sighed, "She's just... she's got so much potential! And she's wasting it, S.H.I.E.L.D. Investigations hardly does anything! For the lvoe of God, she's got a _desk job_!"

Natasha frowned, "Clint, you really think S.H.I.E.L.D. Investigations does nothing? That she won't be helping people? Follow me."

**IN THE LAB:**

Brantley smirked, "Cam, I know what happened."

Cam looked up, "What?"

"I identified the victim, his name was Levi. His father owned a farm, right next to a cotton plantation." Brantley said, "The owner of the cotton plantation was trying to buy Levi's father's land. Levi's father has arthritis, bad arthritis. He couldn't keep the farm up without Levi. So, the developer figures the only way to get the land he wanted was to kill Levi. His father would have had no choice but to sell the land."

Cam nodded, "Alright, interesting idea, but you have no proof behind that-"

"You found a bullet hole in the skull, right?" Brantley asked, "Well, Jason identified the type of bullet, a 22 long riffle. The developer has one, and I had Jason check it too. It's been recently fired."

Cam nodded, "Not exactly enough to convict him-"

"But enough to scare him." Brantley said, "I've got him in questioning. Wanna watch him squirm?"

"Love to."

**IN THE INTERROGATION ROOM:**

Brantley stared down the developer, Paul Bryan. "So, Mr. Bryan, did you ever meet Levi?"

"No." Paul answered smoothly. "I heard his father talk about him though, had a lot of pride in the boy. It's a shame he's dead."

Jade spoke over the com link, "Wow, this guy is pretty relaxed. Guarantee you, if he did kill Levi, he's not a stranger to the method."

"Do you own a 22 long rifle Mr. Bryan?" Brantley asked.

"Yes, I use it for duck hunting." He answered.

Jade laughed through the ear piece, "A 22 long? Not for duck hunting, you'd need a more accurate shot, considering you shoot at them when they're flying."

"I really doubt that sir."

"You calling me a liar?" He asked.

"And a bad one at that." Brantley added. "A 22 long for ducks? Not likely. Why lie about it?"

He shrugged, "I don't know much about guns. A 22 isn't for duck hunting? That would explain why I can't shoot any."

"I don't think you killed him." Brantley said.

"What?" Jade asked from behind the one way mirror.

"You don't?" He asked.

"No, I think someone snatched your gun and shot him with it. Who has access to your gun?" Brantley asked, "And how could they have gotten it without you noticing them sneaking in?"

"Well, my wife has access to it, but she was gone that weekend." He said, "It could have been the hired help though."

Brantley nodded, "And the gun, where is it kept?"

"In my study." He said, "The maid cleans it every other weekend-"

"And when was the last time you used the gun?" Brantley asked.

"About a month ago-"

"Do you know where Levi was the night he was murdered? It would have had to be somewhere the maid could have easily got to him."

"Well, he was coming over to try and talk me out of buying his father's land, again. But you know how the world works, progress. There's no room for Amish country in today's society."

"Liar." Brantley said firmly.

"What?"

"You. Liar." Brantley repeated. "Duck season ended five months ago. There are no legal shooting ranges in Amish country, and your property isn't big enough for you to shoot there legally. And not only that, you said you never met Levi, yet you also just said he was coming over to talk to you, again."

"Well-"

"So." Brantley said, scribbling on a piece of notebook paper, "I'll just put illegal handling of fire arms down on the list of charges, along with obstructing S.H.I.E.L.D. Investigations. And that maid you were talking about, she cleans it every other weekend? She'll be able to tell us when you used that gun, how long you took it out, and if you cleaned it afterwards. Hired help usually jumps at the chance to get their employers arrested. Especially she will, seeing as several of your maids have filed sexual assult charges, she'll be more than willing."

Paul sat there, stunned.

Brantley smirked, "Paul, this little routine you do whenever someone brings you in for murder charges, playing it cool, saying just the right things, only answering what's asked, not providing any other details, it won't work with me."

He raised an eyebrow, "And why is that exactly?"

Brantley leaned back, crossing her arms and looking at him with a smirk on her face. "Because, I'm really good at pretending to be dumber than I am."

**BEHIND THE GLASS:**

Jade looked over her shoulder at Clint, seeing him standing there, pride written all over his features. "Not bad for an Investigations unit, huh?"

Natasha gave him a pointed look, "And this isn't over yet."

Clint just smiled through the glass at Brantley.

**IN THE ROOM:**

"So, do I have to get your maid in here, who I'm sure will have plenty of others crimes you've done she can testify against, or can I just get a confession for this murder?" Brantley asked.

Paul leaned forward, putting his head in his hands, "How did… you're just a kid."

Brantley just shrugged, "Hey, you get 'em young and the possibilities are endless. Now how's about that confession?"

Paul rubbed his forehead, "Fine, I killed Levi. Shot him in the head, and then dumped his body in front of the train."

Brantley nodded, "Mr. Bryan, you're under arrest for the murder of Levi Twain. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be held against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you."

He nodded, standing up, and Brantley cuffed him.

She led him out into the hands of two other agents, and as he walked away, an older couple approached Brantely, the man speaking up. "Excuse me, are you Miss Evans?"

Brantley nodded, "Yes, sir."

The man nodded, "Levi was... my son, and... I just wanted to thank you, thank you for finding out what happened to him."

"It's my job." Brantley siad, "By the way, it seems as if you need a ranch hand, right? Well seeing as Paul is going to be in prison for twenty-five years to life, a lot of his own ranch hands will be looking for work."

The man nodded, smiling, "Fine idea. If there's ever anything I can do for you, you let me know."

Brantley nodded, "Yes, sir."

Natasha turned to Clint, "Now you tell me that she isn't making a difference."

Clint waited until the couple finished their thanks and walked they had away, before approaching Brantley, "Hey, kid?"

Brantley looked over at him, "Clint?"

Clint smiled, "Look, I know I wasn't exactly… enthusiastic about your transfer, but… I'm proud of you."

Brantley smiled back, "Thanks."

**LATER THAT NIGHT:**

Jade took a chug of her Coke, before looking at Brantley as they walked down the hall, "So, you're really doing this, huh? Leaving the team."

Brantley shook her head, "If the team ever needs me, I'll be there, and you know it. But Jade... I feel better working with Investigations. I'm not killing people, I'm... I'm tracking down people who kill people. Our line of work Jade, it's a two way street. I've been driving on the same side four years now, it feels good to drive the other way."

Jade sighed, "Fine Brantley, just be careful, there's a lot of turn offs on your side of the road. Dishing it out it one thing, you just take the shot when they tell you to. Dealing with the after math, you have to know the people, learn about the victims, their families, you're going into a very dark part of the human nature Brantely. Take a shovel."

Brantley stopped at a door, opening it, "Sure Jade, but why would I ever want to dig my way out of this sweet office!?"

Jade walked in, seeing a room with light grey painted walls, white carpet, and a metal ladder leaning against on wall, up to a small platform with a desk on it. Brantley scurried up the ladder, onto the platform, and nestled herself on top of her desk, gesturing to on of the old leather chairs on the ground, "Take a seat Jade!"

Jade rolled her eyes, "You and your mentor are taking this bird thing _way_ to far."

* * *

**Alright guys, here's the scoop. so far, this story has been reveiwed 182 times. which for me, it's just... amazing.**

**So to celebrate, I'm hosting a contest! I'm bringing in a minor character, who won't be around for that long, and I need a name. Our contest is to try and break the two hundred reveiw mark! If eighteen people reveiw, we will.**

**In short, review, and leave your name, your real name, in the review, for a chance to have this new character weild your name! Even if you don't win that prize, I'll be sure to drop your name as a random S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent. If you want your character to look a certain way, say so in the reveiw!**

**Good luck!**


	29. Sit Down, Keep Calm, And Call BlackWidow

**Thank you to all those who participated in the contest! (and those who didn't, yet still reviewed!)**

**WITH JACKSON:**

Jackson slumped in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest, "So, you're the Dr. Acula that everyone keeps complaining about."

The therapist raised an eyebrow, "Yes, I guess so. But we're here to talk about you. How are you feeling?"

Jackson sighed, "Better… I haven't been able to sleep since… you know."

"Is it painful to talk about?"

"It's painful to _think _about!" Jackson snapped. "Every time I try to sleep, I just keep hearing him scream. I remember… I wanted so bad to lead that team, and when Brantley, the one who got what I've been wanting for months, couldn't take that shot… I just thought, that I could step up, you know? Show everyone I could be more than her… that I was the better choice to lead. But you know what?"

"What?"

"I don't want to be leader anymore." Jackson whispered, "After I got home, I started bawling me eyes out. I couldn't stop crying. It was… Brantley's job to make sure no one on our team got hurt… and she did good, for the most part, but me… I don't think I'll ever be okay again."

"I see."

"And that was just one shot she didn't take! One mistake she made! What if… what if there had been more? What if She hadn't figured out Clyde had gotten kidnapped and taken outside? What if she hadn't ordered Jade downstairs? When you're leader… everyone's life depends on you… we all depended on Brantley and… she got through it."

Jackson looked up at Dr. Acula, "I don't want anyone to ever depend on me like we did on her. I know now, why they chose her to lead this team. I don't blame her for not taking the shot… if I had known how much it would have hurt afterwards… I wouldn't have either."

"Brantley resigned from her position."

Jackson looked up, "Wait, what!?"

"Apparently Agent Evans felt she wasn't suited for S.H.I.E.L.D. Special Ops, and she moved to S.H.I.E.L.D. Investigations."

Jackson jumped up, "No!"

**WITH CLINT:**

Clint hesitantly knocked on Brantley's office door, "Uh, kid?"

"Come on in Clint." Brantley called.

Clint stepped in, it had been two days since Brantley had gotten her office, and she had practically moved into it. He hadn't seen her much, and the stacks of paperwork all over her desk were to blame. Brantley had overestimated how much paperwork came with the job, but she had risen to the occasion. And had found herself the victim of several agents who despised paper work, seen her knack for it, and had bribed her into doing some of theirs for them.

"Congratulations on the new office Brantley." Said one such agent, stepping in, setting another stack of papers down on Brantley's desk. She had to stand on tip toe to do it, Brantley's desk was about three feet off the ground.

"Thanks Rebecca." Brantley responded, holding up the finished blue binder she had been scribbling in for the past twenty minutes, "Here, take this to Elisabeth for me, will you?"

"Which Elisabeth, the one we all call Liz, or the one we all call Beth?"

"Liz."

"Oh! Is it about her advances in hacking into an Afghanistan Terrorist facility?"

"If I told you, I'd have to kill you." Brantley shot down.

Rebecca took the folder, "Got it. Top secret, by the way, that's my summary of your friend Jade's mental evaluation, done by DR. Acula, if you want to edit it to make sure she passes her official induction into S.H.I.E.L.D. Special Ops, I won't tell a soul."

"Doubt it's necessary." Brantley mumbled. "Jade can make that guy give her a perfect evaluation."

Rebecca nodded, "Oh yeah, I know. Jade's profiled me before.. Out loud, in front of a lot of agents… I never knew I was gender confused until she told me… now I'm just… confused."

Brantley rolled her eyes, "I'm gonna have to talk to Jade about brainwashing agents just to amuse herself."

Rebecca paused, "Wait so, I'm not gender confused?"

"No, Jade was just bored, and when Jade is bored, suddenly a completely sane man is a sociopath, and a humble agent is suddenly convinced she's an egomaniac." Brantley groaned.

Rebecca sighed in relief, "Oh thank God!"

"Rebecca, you're a twenty-seven year old woman, who's never been confused about that once in her life!" Brantley pointed out, "And suddenly just because some therapist says you're gender confused, you believe it?"

"Well… she was really convincing." Rebecca mumbled.

Brantley paused, "I just might have to edit her evaluation after all."

Clint cleared his throat, "Uh, Brantley…"

Rebecca got the message, "Right, out I go!"

"Whacha need?" Brantley asked.

"Well, I wanted to ask if-"

The door suddenly opened, "Uh, Brantley, there's a Mr. Weaver asking to see you."

Clint stared at the woman, late thirties, dark brown hair kept up in a bun, black pencil skirt, white blouse, high heels, typical desk job attire. "You have a secretary!?"

"Well, she's not my personal secretary, she works for my whole unit." Brantley explained, "All the Investigations agents who just start out, she's like a nanny. What's he want Eleanor?"

"To talk to you." Eleanor said, "And he's quite handsome."

Brantley gave her a look, "Keep your skirt on Eleanor."

"Sorry, but he's quite the catch." Eleanor said mischievously. "Far to young for me though, though he is in a bit of a hurry."

"Well, I don't know him." Brantley mused, "What's his rank?"

"He's an agent from the council." Eleanor said.

"What line is he on?" Brantley asked, picking up the desk phone.

"Oh he didn't call, he's here in person."

Brantley paled, "Oh crap."

Clint raised an eyebrow, "What?"

"The only time people the councils send come to see you in person is if they want to fire you!" Brantley explained, ducking under her desk, "Dear God, what did I do!?"

Eleanor turned and walked out, "I'll send him in then."

"No!" Brantley protested, popping up from under her desk. "I can't get fired Clint! I _just _got this job! I can't go into forensics, I have no school training!"

"You can come back to S.H.I.E.L.D. Special Ops." Clint offered.

Brantley sighed, "Well at least I have that in my favor." Her expression of panic turned into one of rage, "I bet it was that bitch Rian who turned me in! She hates me!"

"Why?" Clint asked, finding this all oddly funny.

"She's jealous I got a bigger office, because I just joined, and she's been here for two years! It's not my fault Fury likes me better." Brantley snapped.

"Oh yeah kid." Clint laughed, "You're his favorite little sidekick."

"Excuse me?" Asked a heavily Russian accented voice, as a very young man poked his head into the door, a small smile on his face. "Are you Agent Evans?"

He couldn't have been older then twenty, and that was pushing it. Dark brown hair in a crew cut, and big grey eyes. He had a muscular build, Brantley could tell that much, even with his three piece suit on. He didn't look like he had much training to back it up though. Brantley was positive she could take him.

Clint stepped farther into the room to allow the young teenage access, taking up one of the seats below Brantley's desk.

Brantley nodded, "Um, yes."

He sat down in the other chair, looking up at her, "Interesting office."

"Uh, thanks." Brantley offered. "So, what exactly id the meeting about."

He laughed, "Relax, dis is merely a small interview to decide if you're ready to, vat is de term… uh, bait de bigger fish."

"You mean, more important cases?" Brantley asked.

He nodded, "Oh yes, you see, de council is greatly concerned vith your recent change in position. Dey send me to test you. Nothing to vorry about, sure you'll pass."

Clint raised an eyebrow, "How old are you kid?"

"Sixteen sir." He answered, "Und my name is Thain. Thain Weaver."

Clint nodded, ignoring the outstretched hand, "And you think that the kid I trained isn't fit to compete with the old ladies who run this department?"

Thain shook his head, "No, not at all. I've over looked your mission reports, and I am certain dat dis will be over quickly. All I need to do is talk vith your therapist, your coworkers, former team mates, simple enough."

"Oh, okay then." Brantley said, feeling a bit more relaxed, "Well my therapist id-"

"Dr. Acula. I do my homework." Thain said, standing, "Dank you for your time, I need to speak vith him."

He left the room, and Clint turned to Brantley, "Still afraid of being fired?"

Brantley let her forehead smack down onto her desk top, "Oh no… he's talking to my therapist! I never tell my therapist anything! Dr. Acula knows I've got a few screws loose! He knows about my anger issues, I practically explode on him every single session I go to! Every. Session. I dodge questions, I insult him, he's going to tear me apart in that interview! Make me out to be some kind of lunatic that needs to be taken off of active duty! I'm screwed!"

The door opened again, and Jackson rushed in, "Brantley, you can't quit S.H.I.E.L.D. Special Ops!"

**WITH THAIN:**

I sat down across from Dr. Acula, "So, vat do you have to say about Brantley Evans?"

Dr. Acula smiled, taking up his notebook, flipping back a few pages, "Well, she needs to have a regular sense of control, that much is obvious. The first few times she came into see me, she simply insulted psychology, and basically everything I stood for."

"So, she has issues, ya?"

"After our first few sessions, when she came to grasp that I was beginning to get her close to a break through, she displayed symptoms of Schizophrenia. Before I could be positive though, it switched to Bipolar Disorder. Then three days later she perfectly matched the description of a person with a Personality Disorder." Dr. Acula chuckled, "Took me awhile to figure out she was using her friend Jade's help to hip hop her way through nearly every mental disease known to man, just to throw me through loops."

"So, she's has perfect mental health?"

He shook his head, "No, after observing her for these past four months, I've come to grip that she had a low level of OCD. Nothing to worry about. The minute she goes on a mission, it's gone. It's more of a relaxing tool she uses once she's back. It focuses mostly around numbers with solid square roots, like one, four, nine, sixteen, twenty-five, thirty-six, and so on."

"Would dis in any way affect her mission performance?" Thain asked.

"No, she knows when to put it away, like I said, it's very low level." He said, "Though, I should mention, she's got severe mental demons to deal with. Based on her past, she's very touchy about several subject, such as family, anything to do with parents in general, authority figures, and so on. She reels at the thought of having any type of parental figure, yet doesn't realize she's already set one up for herself."

"Hawkeye?"

"Exactly." Dr. Acula chuckled, "She insists their relationship is merely teacher student, but what happens very often with teachers and students, good students, a deeper bond forms. However, that's not what's happened here. He has thrown himself into the role of her father since day one, and I think it has something to do with his background as well."

"Vat exactly are you getting at?" Thain asked.

"Clint Barton also participated in a circus, for a time. It's where he got most of his skills. I believe, because of that connection, he might have known her beforehand." Dr. Acula concluded. "Therefore, because of this bond, I advise you, whatever the council has planned for this girl, be sure Clint Barton is involved as _much _as possible."

Thain cleared his throat, "Vell, that's very interesting, but I'm more concerned about her last mission in Special Ops, they all reported that she had a clear shot, but she didn't take it? In Investigations, sometimes suspects run, und you have do shoot dem. Can she shoot?"

Dr. Acula sighed, "Brantley has been one of my more… interesting patients, but certainly not the most difficult, nor the most dangerous. One of the reasons she couldn't take that shot, why she couldn't shoot a man from a distance… it's most likely that whenever she tries to, she sees her fathers, tied to that bullseye, and she's aiming at him."

"But, she has no problem vith killing-"

"Yes, up close." Dr. Acula agreed, "But form far away, she wouldn't shoot anyone, not even if they had a knife to one of her friend's neck. She's simply un able to, it's quite literally a physical impossibility."

**WITH BRANTLEY:**

"Alright Jackson, what's this about?" Brantley asked. "Why can't I quit?"

"Because you need to be there!" Jackson begged helplessly, "You _have _to still be on the team! What happens next time we're in that kind of situation? Huh? Am I supposed to kill another man!? I can't do it Brantley, I can't!"

"Jackson, I'm sure Jade or Tyson can-"

"I already asked them!" Jackson screamed. People from outside glanced curiously through the glass windows, wondering what the commotion was about. "They've never killed anyone before Brantley, no one! If they have to kill someone too, then… they'll go through exactly what I did, don't do that to them!"

Brantley stood up, jumping down from the small ledge, "Jackson, look, there was a reason I couldn't take that shot!"

"Then get over it! This is all your fault." Jackson snapped, "You were the leader of this team for a reason! Everyone trusted you, and you let me… you let me kill a man! I'm twelve Brantley! Twelve!"

"And I'm fifteen!" Brantley yelled. "Jackson, you're the one who didn't even want me on the team, as I recall, it was an insult to your intelligence right!?"

"That was before I knew!" Jackson screamed, stomping his foot. "Before I knew why they put you on this team."

"Well then tell me Jackson!" Brantley demanded "You tell me why I'm so important, because I've been asking myself the question from day one!"

"Because no one can do what you do!"

"W-what?"

"You're the only one of us who can go there Brantley, the only one who can cross that line, and come back. You've killed people before Brantley, I know you have. I can see it in your eyes. Please Brantley!" Jackson lunged forward, wrapping her arms around Brantley's waist, sinking to his knees, "Please… don't make me… make me kill someone again… Please!"

Brantley froze, not used to the physical contact, before laying her hand in his slicked back, overly gelled hair. "Jackson, I think you heard wrong, I'm still on the team."

Jackson looked up at her, "What… really?"

"Yeah, I'm just in a new sector, with different authority." Brantley explained, "There's gonna be certain missions I can't go on, and intel you're allowed to hear, and I'm not, but other than that, nothing's different. And I still outrank you, free lancer."

Jackson stood up quickly, brushing himself off, "Uh… well then, um… just forget this ever happened. Alright?"

Brantley laughed, grabbing Jackson's shoulders, and turning him around to point towards the corner, where a small security camera was nestled. "Jackson, that's going on youtube. Just warning you."

Jackson growled, taking out his phone, "I'm hacking that, right now!"

Clint just laughed.

Jackson frowned, "How long has he been sitting there?"

The door opened once again, and Thain poked his head in, "Congratulations Brantley, you pass with flying colors."

Brantley's eyebrows shot up, "Wow, really?"

"Da, although it appears you have schizophrenia, ADHD, Bi-polar disorder, high functioning autism, and multiple personality disorder." Thain said, chuckling.

Clint raised an eyebrow, "Is that all?"

"Although, there's one question I have left to ask." Thain admitted.

"Uh, what?" Brantley questioned.

"Vould you like to go out for dinner vith me?" Thain asked.

"As in… an interview?"

"No, a date, if you vish." Thain said, straightening his tie a little nervously.

Brantley smiled, "Uh, okay."

Clint's eyes bulged, "What? But you still haven't talked to me!"

"Tomorrow Clint." Brantley promised, following Thain out of the office "Don't wait up for me."

Clint paused, staring at the door as it closed. Jackson looked at him uncertainly, "Should I call Natasha for you?"

"… That would be great. Thank you."

_TO THOSE WHO SENT IN NAMES:_

_I an very sorry if your names were not used, I put in as many as possible, I honestly did._

_Fear not, there is still a possibility of the unused names being brought in later, and random S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. Do not expect them to be anything other than passing faces though._

_To those who are angered about Brantley being in the soul spotlight: THE STORY IS ABOUT HER!_

_I know that you all love Clyde, and trust me, he's going to be used a lot more, especially once the characters have grown enough, and the REAL PLOT begins. I have the whole story planned out, NO SPOILERS! And I plan to constantly keep shipping Jade/Tyson._

_Jackson and Tama both play necessary roles, and Jackson is getting his little spotlight time, alright? Tama probably never will. Sorry._

_If anyone is interested in how these characters look to me, there is a link on my profile that will take you to my Photo bucket album, search around a little, and you'll find them all._

_I am not a good artist, but I am a great writer, so if you don't like my pictures or the fact I used bases, draw me some fan art people! I have no digital art skill._


	30. Date Gone Wrong

Thain had actually given Brantley a goo night. They hadn't been able to decide on a restaurant, so they had gone to see Sky Fall. Thain has insisted on buying the tickets, but Brantley had gotten him to let her pay for the soda and popcorn, and a huge box of nerds she had gotten for herself, and had finished halfway through the movie.

After the end of the movie, Thain had gotten her ice cream, ignoring the cold weather, and they sat on a park bench, just watching people go by.

"Dis is nice." Thain commented.

"Yeah, it is." Brantley agreed, "I actually haven't done anything like this in… a long time."

"Since before you joined S.H.I.E.L.D.?" Thain asked.

Brantley nodded, "Yeah, way before. There was this guy named Tripp, and he took me to see this musical on Broadway, Newsies. Good show."

Thain smiled, putting an arm over her shoulders, "Well, he seems like a classy guy."

"He wasn't a date, we were more like… siblings I guess." Brantley explained, "Well, no, more like cousins, or close friends."

"So, you used to be in Special Ops, ya?" He asked, "Vat made you quit?"

Brantley was silent for a moment, "Ah, can we not talk about that?"

Thain nodded, "Ah, I understand. To personal."

"Yeah." Brantley admitted. A few moments ticked by, until she broke the silence again. "So, ah… what department are you in?"

"I started out in Accounting." He said, "Dat vas ah… pretty much all I could do. I 'ave never been much of a fighter. I trained for several weeks, but my teacher proclaimed me unteachable, and dat was de end of dat."

Brantley nodded, "So, what are you know?"

"A glorified messenger boy." Thain said, chuckling. "De Council tells me do dis, and I do it. It's mostly desk vork, noting like you used to do. Truth be told, de higher up you are on de bar, de less vork you do, yet de more authority you 'ave. I know where all of De Council are located, and know several of dem personally. Basically, I am dere nanny."

Brantley laughed a little, and then her phone lit up, Jade's ring tone bursting to life.

_You got the bullets,_

_I got the gun._

_I got a hankerin for gettin' into somethin'_

_I hit the bottle,_

_you hit the gas._

_I heard your 65 could really haul some ass._

Brantley flushed while Thain chuckled, grabbing her phone, and answering it quickly, "Jade, totally mood killer."

"Brantley, Ah don't know what happened! One minute we were just sitting outside their base, and then Natasha was on the ground, and they were all waving their guns around, and Ah didn't know what to do!"

Brantley's eyes widened, "Jade! Stop, take a breath, now! Now where are you?"

"S.H.I.E.L.D.'s emergency medical wing."

"Are you okay?" Brantley asked.

"Uh… Ah think Ah have a few injuries, but nothing bad, but Brantley, Natasha!"

"What happened to Natasha?" Brantley asked calmly.

Thain stood up, "Should I get de car?"

Brantley turned the phone around, "Yeah, quickly."

Thain nodded, jogging to the parking lot. "Natasha, she just… Brantley they won't tell me anything, they just keep running in and out of the room, no one's talking to me!"

Brantley nodded, "Alright, Jade, listen to me very clearly, next time a doctor walks past, stop him, and tell him you're using Special Ops Agent code of rights section seventeen, subsection eight, paragraph three."

"What's that going to do!?" Jade screamed.

Thain pulled up in his black truck, and Brantley jumped into shot gun, "Basically, that right means that if your partner on your mission is struck down and taken into medical care, you have the right to view their medical documents as they come in."

Jade paused, "Well why haven't they given me any!?"

"Because you didn't tell them you were using that right!" Brantley answered as Thain sped down the road.

"Okay, whatever, just get here now!" Jade commanded.

She hung up before Brantley could respond.

Thain really knew how to put the petal through the floor. In less than twenty minutes, they were at S.H.I.E.L.D., rushing to emergency care. Brantley saw Jade, left hand bandaged up, stitches gouged into a really nasty cut on her forehead, and a great big shiner on her right eye. She was pouring over papers, before she caught sight of Brantley, "Brantley!"

Brantley jogged over, "What's going on?"

Jade growled in frustration, "Ah can't read any of this, Ah don't understand what it means!"

Brantley took the papers, "Just let me… oh, uh huh… Well that's not good."

"What!?"

"She'll be fine." Brantley assured, "But she'll be in the medical wing for awhile. Nothing too bad, she's just been shot in the gut a few times, and the leg once. No internal organs punctured. All in all, the only reason you're not allowed in is because she's unconscious, and apparently you're in shock."

Jade stood there frozen. Before falling down to her knees. "Jade!?"

Brantley crouched down next to her, "Jade? What's wrong, oh right, shock."

Jade shook her head, "Brantley… I… she was just… that bullet hit so fast…"

Brantley rested a hand on her shoulders, "Uh, maybe I should call a squint to make sure that this is just shock…"

Jade snapped out of it, "Ya try to put me on an examination table with those creeps, Ah'm gonna show ya why they call me the gator queen back in Louisiana."

Brantley nodded, "Okay, your back, good."

Clint suddenly burst into the hallway, slipping away from protesting doctors, "I DON'T CARE IF I WASN'T ON THE MISSION, I'M SEEING NATASHA!"

Brantley smirked, "Well, you'll be able to see Natasha soon."

Clint barged over to the door Natasha was behind, a doctor stepping in his way, "Sire, it's against S.H.I.E.L.D. policy to-"

Clint pulled his fist back, decking the doctor harshly, and stepping into the room as the doctor fell to the floor. Jade jumped up, trailing behind him, while Brantley picked up her phone, dialing a number quickly, "Hey Mikkela? It's Brantley, ya know that favor you owe me for casually forgetting about your code 45 violation last week? We've got a code 21 here, caused by Hawkeye, victim, Doctor, think you can let it slip?"

"You got it."

"Thank you~!" Brantley practically sang as she hung up, "God I love having a desk job."

She waltzed into the room, seeing Hawkeye, already perched on a chair right next to her bed, hand locked into hers, head cuddled into her shoulder, mumbling something Brantley couldn't hear into her ear.

Natasha's eyes fluttered open, "God I love that line."

Brantley raised an eyebrow at Jade, who just shrugged, "Neva seen that memory."

Brantley nodded, "Yeah whatever, I just-" She trailed off, looking at a bullet wound in Natasha's leg. "Hey doctor?"

The doctor walked into the room, glaring at Hawkeye through a big black eye, "What?"

Brantley turned to face him, "I wanna look at her x-rays of her left leg."

Clint froze, hearing something in Brantley's tone he didn't like, "Kid, what's wrong?"

Brantley shook her head, "Nothing, it's just uh, there's an important tendon there."

The doctor shook his head, "I'm afraid I can't let you see the x-rays, you are medical personnel, and you weren't on the mission with her."

Brantley stared at him for a moment, and Jade could practically see the pages of S.H.I.E.L.D. regulations pass through her eyes. "What section are you?"

"47, why?"

Brantley pulled her newly gotten badge out, "S.H.I.E.L.D. Investigations and Oversight, I watch section 47, so you work for me. Give me the x-rays."

The doctor stared at her, eyes wide, "You our new performance reviewer?"

"Yep, and this is a test. X-rays." Brantley commanded.

The doctor nodded, pulling the slim pieced of plastic out, "Yeah, sure, sure. I just… expected someone, uh, older."

Brantley didn't respond, holding the thin sheet up to the light. Clint watched the emotions on her face pass from observation, to interest, disbelief, then rage. "Doctor, get this patient to surgery, immediately."

Natasha stared at the young teenager, "What?"

The doctor nodded, "Yeah, that's my response too."

Brantley turned to the doctor, a glare on her features that meant someone was gonna die. "Take a look at these, see anything you missed!?"

The doctor fumbled with the sheet, "Um, no I don't-"

"About eight pixels to the left of the wound!"

"I don't-"

"Of course you don't!" Brantley snapped, "You know why? Because you're a fresh out of college doctor, first week on the job, I mean honestly, is this your first time looking at a real x-ray!? I don't know why you were recruited here, but you certainly didn't get that from your astounding service record as a surgeon! Now get her into surgery, right now!"

"Brantley!" Natasha protested, "Stop trying to make a full grown man wet himself, and tell me what the hell is going on with my leg, or so help me, I'll-"

Natasha made a move to step out of the bed, but Brantley lunged forward, grabbing her thigh right above her kneecap, "No! Don't move! Natasha, don't you dare move your leg if you want to live."

Clint grabbed Brantley's hand, gently pulling her off Natasha, "Alright, she won't move her leg, now what the hell is going on?"

Brantley took a deep breath, "When the bullet hit your leg, it grazed your upper femur, fracturing the bone in that area."

"Yeah." Natasha said, "But that's happened to me before, I should be fine-"

"But this time, part of the fractured bone is attached to your tendon, if you move your leg in any way, that tendon is going to yank on the bone, and pull it the rest of the way off."

The doctor's eyes widened, "Oh no."

Brantley nodded, "Yeah you know where this is going don't you, ya dumb ass." she turned back to Natasha, "And if it does, then that splintered bone is going to slice right through your femoral artery. Natasha, you'd bleed to death before anyone knew what was happening."

Everyone in the room was dead silent, until the doctor mumbled, "I'll just… make a few calls and get her to surgery-"

"Ya know what?' Brantley snapped, "No! No, you aren't! Because apparently you're so incompetent, you can't see something as obvious as that! That's the _first _thing you're supposed to check for! I'm gonna call my people to deal with this." Brantley took our her phone, slamming her thumb down onto the keyboard to punch out a number, "And you know what else, you're fired! Pack your bags, you don't deserve to work here!"

The doctor stood there, stunned, before shuffling out of the room, "Hey Jason? Yeah look, I need a favor. No it's not… well kind of, look I'll wheel her up to your office myself, sterilize all your equipment, you're playing doctor today."

Brantley hung up, to see everyone in the room staring at her, "… What?"

"You just saved my life." Natasha whispered.

Brantley's features went blank.

"You just saved my life." She repeated.

Brantley cleared her throat, "Let's just… get you down to Jason's office."

They wheeled Natasha down there, and Jason looked up at Brantley, "Uh, she's comfortable with the fact I've never done this before, right?"

Clint paled, "What?"

Brantley waved away his concerned, "Clint, if I know one thing about Jason it's that when it comes down to small stuff, he's the man."

Jason nodded, "That I am Brant. Hey, hot redhead, you mind if I keep the bone splinter?"

Natasha paused, not really sure about this guy. "Uh… yeah, sure, go ahead."

Cam walked in, her heel clicking across the floor, "I have the pain killers!"

Jade looked up, "Wait, you're not gonna sedate her?"

"Of course not, we don't have that kind of stuff." Cam let off an overly happy laugh that sounded like a less crazy version of a female mad scientist. "Beside, it'll be fun to watch her observe her own leg being cut open. I wonder if it'll be upsetting or interesting top her."

"Cam." Brantley groaned.

"Oh, right. One super pain killer coming up!" Cam said gleefully, injecting the needle into Natasha's thigh.

Jason looked over the x-rays, "Hmm, oh yeah, after I get that bone chunk out, your leg will be fine, but there's the subject of rehab afterwards."

"How long?' Natasha asked.

Jason shrugged, "Well, I'm not technically a medical doctor, but the bone should be fine in about… oh, three or four weeks. So you either take that long of a break off, or there's an experimental treatment I've been working on with lab rats involving a series of painful shots containing a type of coral being injected through your bone, into your marrow."

Natasha didn't even blink. "How many shots?"

Jason just laughed, "How many shots? Aren't you precious!"

Clint frowned, crossing his arms, "She asked how many shots."

Brantley laughed, "There's no shot treatment Clint, especially since procedures like those are illegal _Jason_. He just said that to get her more comfortable about the idea of time off. He knows what a workaholic she is."

Jason nodded, taking a needle from the tabled, "Speaking of the procedure-" He jabbed it into Natasha's thigh, "Do you feel that?"

Natasha shook her head, "No."

Jason grinned from ear to ear, "Great! Now I get to slice you open! I've never done this on a live specimen before."

Natasha and Clint exchanged looks, and then Clint looked at Brantley pointedly. Brantley grabbed Jason's shoulder, "Just give us a minute."

Brantley dragged Jason out by his shirt collar, throwing him sort of gently against the wall, "Jason, Natasha is not a specimen, she's a patient."

"I know, I just-"

Brantley grabbed Jason's by the shoulders, looking him dead in the eyes, "No. No you do not know. Jason, for a few minutes, stop thinking like a scientist. Natasha's life is in your hands, okay? If she dies, it's your fault. Natasha is not one of your particulates, got it? She's a human, a strong, smart, beautiful woman, who's in a committed relationship she thinks in a big secret but it's not, and she's a big sister to my best friend. If you screw up, you will be taking one of the most important people in the world to them away, forever."

Jason paused, letting that sink in. "Okay."

"And something else to sit on, if you kill her, I'll shoot you, and I'm not talking warning shot here, I'm talking shoot to kill." Brantley said firmly.

Jason nodded, "I got it Brantley." He paused a moment, "And uh… thanks, ya know, for the wake up call."

Brantley nodded, "It's what I do."

They walked back into the room, and Jason got to work right away. Natasha didn't feel a thing, she just stared up at the ceiling, not looking at the operation. Jade tried to watch at first, but quickly came to the conclusion that if she didn't stop watching, she would end up losing her dinner. Clint just held Natasha's hand, watching her.

Cam had already left to go poke at bones, and Jason was nose deep into his work.

Brantley leaned on the wall, watching carefully, until her phone beeped, someone texted her.

Is everything okay? - Thain

Brantley smiled a little, Yeah, Natasha should be fine in a few minutes, just waiting.

Well then, seeing as we won't have a funeral to attend anytime soon, care to make plans for another date?

"Who are you texting?" Clint asked out of the blue.

"Thain." Was the short reply.

Natasha raised an eyebrow, "Who's Thain?"

Clint frowned, "Some boy."

Natasha looked from Brantley, to Clint, to Jade, "Oh. A boy huh?"

Brantley nodded, "Yeah, just a guy."

"Is he cute?" Natasha asked.

"Strong jaw type." Brantley answered.

Jade piped up, "Is he nice?"

"Big teddy bear."

"Okay!" Clint interrupted, "We get it."

Natasha rolled her eyes, "Oh grow up Clint, she's fifteen, he's…?

"Sixteen."

Natasha nodded, "So what's he like?"

"Russian."

She grinned, "Thumbs up for that one Brantley."

"Brant." Jason snapped, "I don't mean to be a wet blanket here, but you're all pretty distracting, and if this knife moves down half an inch, this hot red head's gonna die."

Everyone was dead silent for a few moments, and then Jason help up a pair a tweezers, a small sliver of bone clutched in them. "There we go, all done. You light wanna get someone to stitch her up. I have no training in that field."

Brantley nodded, "Right, we'll get her back to the medical wing. I owe ya one Jason."

Jason paused, holding the bone splinter in his hand, "Hey, hot lady, you mind if I keep this?"

Natasha raised an eyebrow, "Uh, sure, why?"

"Souvenir of the first time I saved a life." Jason replied.

Brantley nodded, "Yep, that's right, he saved your life. Not me, I just kind of gave him a nudge in the right direction. Thank him." Before anyone could say anything else, she shrugged off the wall, heading out of the room. "I gotta get back to work. Try not to go into shock again, okay Jade?"

Natasha paused, "Did I say something wrong?"

Clint shook his head, "No, she just doesn't really like attention. So that whole 'You saved my life thing' was pretty awkward for her."

"But… she did."

Clint chuckled, "Yeah, but she doesn't wanna get a thank you for it."

"Why not?'

"No clue." Clint admitted.

Jade stood up, "Ah'm gonna just… talk to her."

Jade found Brantley in her office, perched up on her desk, leafing through cold cases. "Brantley?"

She didn't even look up, "Kinda busy."

"Don't care." Jade said, stepping up the ladder to get to Brantley's platform. "What's so bad about saying thank you?"

Brantley paused, setting her files down. "Jade… When I was… I grew up in a circus, and when I turned eight, my grandfather taught me this knife throwing act. I got really good at it, practiced it for a year, and then started performing it and… well, there was an accident and I just…" Brantley finally looked up, meeting Jade's gaze. "… I'm made some really bad mistakes in my life Jade. I've made calls I'm not proud of and… I can't even take a simple shot at a mass murdering psychopath! I don't deserve a thank you. I don't deserve friends, or family and yet… I've gotten all of that. So please, please never thank me."

Jade was silent for a few minutes. She had known Brantley had some trauma to her, but she didn't think it was this bad. "Brantley, yer mah best friend." Brantley flinched at that a little, but Jade kept talking. "And Ah'm neva going to let anything happen to mah best friend. Ah, Ah don't have yer back Brantley, Ah'm standing right next to ya."

Brantley didn't even know what to say to that.


	31. Squad 87? Really?

Agent Hill and General Fury stood before the council, the news wasn't easy to deliver. Tyson had finally turned eighteen, and the council expected him to be brought out into the field, solo. Dropping the news that they hadn't trained him in any solo work was a delicate maneuver. General Fury explained that all the kids they had recruited were trained only in team effort, except Brantley Evans and Jade Jones. Brantley had been training with the Investigations unit, as well as her solo work, and even with the squints, which was something rare for a former field agent. Natasha had trained Jade for nearly any situation, solo, partnered, or in a team.

The council was silent for a moment, before a woman spoke up, "We know."

General fury was silent.

Another council member, a man, spoke next, "Do you think we are idiots General? Do you think we would send our personal inspector to merely observe Agent Evans? He was there to confirm our suspicions, that you're making a second Avengers team."

The woman spoke again, "We've all discussed it between ourselves, and we're willing for it to happen, on one condition."

Fury nodded, "Name it."

"We'd like to direct it to Agent Hill, not you. She is the one whom is in charge of the children, correct?'

Agent Hill nodded, "Yes Ma'am."

Another man piped up, "We don't want any freelancers on that team! Anyone you put on this new team has to be a certified S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent. They can be from any sector, so we expect Agent Evans to be there as well. Her change in sector will not excuse her."

The woman nodded, "No free lancers on this team, if you want Jackson Stark to be here, you recruit him. We want soldiers, not heroes."

The first man spoke once more, "Do you think these children can function as a team Agent Hill?"

Agent Hill didn't even hesitate. "Yes sir, I do."

"Good." The woman replied. "Will Tama and Clyde be joining as well? There are sufficient age differences we need to discuss. Tama is nine years, and Clyde is only eleven himself. Stark is twelve, yet you seem to intend including them."

"I do."

"Why is this? According to psychological evaluations, they don't have any outstanding adult mindsets."

"This team wouldn't be able to function if any of it's members were missing." Agent Hill explained, "We've put even their basic training around their team performance. One missing member, and the team won't achieve even the simplest of tasks."

A third man nodded, "Understood, but be warned that we expected this to be an elite squad of only the highest performing individuals. Do not fail us, or you will see your entire career crumble before your very eyes."

Agent Hill simply nodded.

Everyone was actually happy with how the council's decision turned out.

Jackson had been placed in the S.H.I.E.L.D. Weapons and Development section, and had gotten over his trauma about killing. He and Brantley were actually getting along. Well, they still had the occasional argument from time to time about S.H.I.E.L.D. protocol. Jackson acted as if there were no rules, and it was Brantley's job to enforce the rules, so it was the whole immoveable object vs. unstoppable force deal. Hard to say which was which.

Brantley and Thain were spending more and more time together, especially now that Thain had been placed here permanently to oversee the team's development. Brantley got better and better at her job, getting a promotion in record time. She went from solving cold cases to tracking down terrorist groups, stepping into the daily rhythm like a line dancer into the electric slide. Most of it was desk work, but occasionally, she had to go out into the field, and take down a group herself. Not once did she ever kill form a distance. It was always close up, with a knife. She still visited Marlo every now and then, but when she couldn't check up on her when she wanted to, she would usually take Tama or Clyde out for the day. Baseball games, movies, laser tag matches, carnivals, anything they wanted. With all the money she blew on those kids it was a wonder she had any savings at all.

Jade had been placed in Special Ops, and was developing quite a name for herself as Gunpoint. S.H.I.E.L.D. had seen a lot of progress with her, and she had been working on one big problem for several months, the illegal arms dilemma. As days turned into weeks, and weeks turned into months, she was slowly cleaning it all out. Natasha was proud, but her parents were even prouder. Every other weekend she would head down to her home town, talk with her parents all day, and then head down to the local bar to watch cage fights all night. The minute she got back, she was immediately chatting Brantley's ear off about it all, and then sparing with her. At first Brantley took her down easily, but after a few months, they started tying every match. In skill level they were even, but in rank, jade was better.

Tama was also in Special Ops, but she was more of a soldier than a spy. Scratch that, she was a one girl army. Once she figured out that she could hit as hard as she could, she had done so much damage, it was really silly that the council had ever thought they would need any type of bomb. She wasn't around S.H.I.E.L.D. as much as the others, she did in fact have a life, unlike the rest of them. She would visit her grandparents, and stir up all kinds of hell on Asguard. Her pranks varied from simple whoopee cushions to switching the few road signs they had. Everyone could see Thor wasn't happy that his daughter acted like such a younger Loki when she felt mischievous.

Tyson of course went into S.H.I.E.L.D. Science, but he dabbled in Special Ops as well. He took it upon himself to at least try and out fight Jade, but so far he hadn't succeeded. He and Bruce had developed a brotherhood relationship. Tyson would assure Bruce that Brantley's secretary did in fact smile back at him yesterday, and Bruce would convince Tyson Jade wasn't just teasing him.

Clyde spent most of his time with Steve, who was finally getting serious about his training. Clyde proved to be a fast learner, although physical activities weren't his strong suit. Brantley had to admit, Clyde packed a punch against a bag, but a real person? Even Tama could tell he held back against a live target. When Clyde wasn't with Steve, he was either out with Brantley, or with Tyson, listening to him drone on and on about physics. He had applied for S.H.I.E.L.D. Special Ops, but he had been denied. He hadn't passed the physical exam, that's what Brantley said. But he could tell by the way she bit her tongue, there was something else behind it.

Thain got a permanent position on the helicarrier, watching over the team. He said that he did it because it was a 'strategic career move' to manage the Next Avengers, but everyone knew the real reason. He had fallen for Brantley, and fallen hard.

The team was at the ready, as always, but hadn't been called into assemble yet. There was no cause for such an elite team to be out in the field, and even if there was, the Avengers were still around. People would always call the Avengers first.

Which is why it was such a shock when they got a call from Agent Hill after three months as an official S.H.I.E.L.D. squad.

It all started when Brantley got her new tattoo. After her burned arm was healed, she had gotten a new tattoo right where the old one had been, but instead of having a tribute to her favorite band Hollywood Undead, she had gotten a big red LS tattooed on her right elbow, for Long Shot.

Jade had shaken her head at that, staring at Brantley across the table in their rec room. "Brantley, how are ya ever gonna be a spy with a dead give away like that."

"I know about your tramp stamp." Brantley answered.

Jade looked up at her, eyes wide, "What?"

"You've got the Chinese symbol for failure tattooed on your lower back." Brantley said.

Jade frowned, "No, I don't. That's the symbol for fighter."

Brantley looked up at her, one eyebrow raised, "Uh, I know basic Chinese Jade, you got scammed. Let me guess, the tattoo artist was Chinese."

"Well… he was oriental." Jade mumbled.

Brantley laughed, "Should I sign you up for laser tattoo removal?"

Jade nodded, "Immediately please."

"I'll ask Cam for a recommendation."

Suddenly, both of their phones lit up, and they quickly answered them, "Agent Evans."

"Agent Jones."

They both jerked their heads up to look at each other as Agent Hill began talking. "Squad 87 assemble to panic room, code 12."

They immediately stood up, running to the door. "Agent Evans responding."

"Agent Jones responding."

They dashed down the hallways, finally entering the panic room, seeing Clyde, Tama, Tyson, and Agent Hill already there. Jade and Brantley quickly took their seats.

After a few minutes, Jackson came stumbling in, computer wires tangled up and down his arms and fingers. "I'm here! Now, what's a code 12? It sounds important!"

Brantley glared at him, "Don't you read the handbook? At all?"

"I think I skimmed over the first page." Jackson said, sitting down and trying to pull the wires off his hands.

"You mean the cover?"

"Yeah, that page." Jackson mumbled, untangling a bright red wire from around his fist.

"Excuse me." Agent Hill snapped, "But you have a mission here."

"Oh, is that what a code 12 is?" Jackson asked.

Jade shook her head, "A code 12 means that the squad above us ain't doin' so hot, so we're called in as a plan B."

Jackson beam, "Awesome! Who's the squad above us?"

Brantley gave him a look, "The Avengers."

**TWO HOURS LATER:**

Jackson squinted up at the glaring sunlight through his sunglasses. The desert was dry and hot, the heat waves radiating in every direction. He turned away form the sun to stare at Brantley, "So, this is where our parents were last heard from?"

"You and Tama are the only one with blood relations to your mentors." Tyson corrected.

"Yes." Brantley said firmly, looking around carefully. Jackson had known her long enough by now that the was Brantley looked at things was from a different angle than he could perceive. The fact that there wasn't anyone around for miles didn't mean a thing. Brantley saw what no one else could. "They didn't disappear. They were abducted."

Tyson looked up, an eyebrow raised. "How do you figure that?"

"Don't ask her. The method she uses are madness." Jackson advised.

Brantley answered anyways. "Cam said there were some high winds in this area earlier, they've blown away any signs of a struggle. They would have radioed in if they had time to shout out… we're dealing with something big here."

Clyde froze, "How big?"

"Alien invasion big." Brantley spelled out.

Before anyone could comment on that, Brantley's phone lit up, playing out a personal ring tone.

_Whatever happened_

_To the young man's life?_

_Swallowed by pain,_

_As he slowly fell apart!_

She quickly answered it, "Hey, Jason? Yeah good timing man, I need you to-"

Everyone watched as Brantley's face shifted from a simple route expression, to a horrified expression that lasted for about one blink on an eye, then shifted to a stony look that jade knew all to well.

"Squad 87 responding."

Brantley snapped her phone shut, turning to Jackson, "Iron Clad, you and Tama get to the helicarrier, now. One of you carry Clyde there, there's going to e a lot of medical attention needed."

Tama grabbed Clyde's arm, taking off without a second thought. Jackson slapped his helmet down, "What's going on Brantley?'

"First of all, use my codename. Second of all, we're on def con level one."

Tyson cleared his throat as Jackson took off, "Uh, what does that mean exactly?"

Brantley jumped into the driver's seat on their jeep, "Am I the only one who reads the handbook!?"

"Pretty much shugah." Jade said, shrugging.

"It mean's that the helicarrier has been attacked!" Brantley growled out, putting the petal to the floor, zipping across the desert faster than she had ever driven. "And it's lined up to well. Avengers disappear, then the helicarrier attacked? This doesn't just happen on a coincidence!"

"Then who is it?" Jade asked.

Brantley shrugged, "Could be AIM, could be HYDRA, who knows? S.H.I.E.L.D. has way to many enemies for me to keep track of them all."

Jade was silent for a moment, before finally saying what she wanted to. "Do ya think that they're alright?"

"All the Agents on the helicarrier? Probably not, I mean, Jason said it fell under S.H.I.E.L.D. Protocol's section 14, subsection 5, paragraph 2. So it's probably… barely hovering, and a _lot _of agents down."

"Ah mean our mentors." Jade snapped. "Or are you not thinking of Clint right now."

Brantley gritted her teeth, "This is section 14 Jade, I _can't _think of Clint right now. I have to think of Hawkeye, and since he's been missing for more than twelve hours, we have to assume he's either dead, or AWOL."

"What about captured?" Tyson pitched in.

Brantley shook her head, "Even if he is, it's against regulations to try and find him, especially since we have no leads. Our orders are to return to base, help the wounded, and try and keep the helicarrier from sinking like the Titanic."

The jeep suddenly flipped, spiraling into the air, and Brantley quickly bailed, landing softly into the sand. The jeep kept going, tumbling back to the ground, and throwing it's screaming teenagers out of the seats. Jade groaned, trying to move her hands and see if she still had all her fingers. Yep.

Tyson tried to get his breath back, and Brantley stood up straight, looking at what had sent their vehicle flying. She stared, dumbfounded.

Jade grabbed Tyson's arm, trying to help him stand, "Come on now Tyson, you're legs are fine."

"Guys?" Brantley called.

"What?" Jade snapped, fed up with how professional Brantley was being. Why couldn't she just be normal for a change and get worried?

"We just… slipped on ice. In the dessert."

Jade and Tyson stared at what Brantley pointed out, a patch of ice about five feet in length and seven in width. Jade couldn't help herself, "How the hell did that turn up, when it's hotter out here than a jack rabbit in July?"

Tyson gave her a 'you have got to be kidding' look. "Way to be a stereotype."

Brantley looked over her shoulder to snap at them, but paused, and quickly loaded her bow, pointing it behind them.

Jade and Tyson whirled around, seeing a tall man with blue skin staring down at them, smirking, "Hello mortals."

Tyson and jade stepped back, Tyson being the first to speak, "Who is that?"

Brantley didn't even hesitate, "That's Loki."

* * *

Hello readers!

Yes, it is Imaninja41, here to bring you news! actually, it' just a shout out. This one's going out to my buddy RivalsAreAllies, who has actually been helping me to prepare for the sequal to this story.

Yes, this story will eventually end. And will be replaced with another, about the same kids! (plus about three or four more...)

I've got pretty much everything planned out on this story, it's just a matter of getting my lazy self to write it out.

Anyways, besides the shout out, TO MY AWESOME FRIEND RivalsAreAllies (seriousely, go check this dude out, he's the Spiderman to my batman. If you want that explained in a way that totally convincves you Spiderman and batman are on equal footing in the matter of h2h fighting, ask RivalsAreAllies aout it. I'm still stunned that's it's true myself.) i want to say that if any of you readers have a favorite Marvel pair you'd like to see have a kid, feel free to send me a profile, or just throw the pairing out there. I'll ask RivalsAreAllies about it if i don't have any opinions on the couple. Or I just don't know them.

Thank's for reading!


	32. By The Book

Brantley let her arrow loose, aiming right for Loki's eye, but he moved his head to the side, and it flew into the air, exploding uselessly. Jade took out her guns, but before she could fire them, ice shot out from Loki's hands, freezing the guns to her hands.

Brantley loaded another arrow as Tyson's hands lit up, but Loki spoke before either of them could fight back, "Be still, you insolent _children_! I come here not to fight, but to make peace."

Jade spoke up, "Uh, little help here? Ah can't feel my fingers! And I really don't wanna know what'll happen if I try to shoot through the ice."

Brantley looked like she was still ready to kill him, but Tyson dropped his arms, moving to melt the ice off. "Tyson, don't do that."

Tyson looked up at Brantley, "Why?"

"If you freeze and than unfreeze her hands to fast, they'll turn to sludge and fall right off." Brantley explained, keeping her bow string tight, not taking her eyes off Loki. She had heard the horror stories of his last arrival. "Apply the heat slowly."

Tyson nodded, but Brantley didn't look to see if he listened. Loki spoke again, "I do not come for war, I come to help mankind."

"I doubt that." Brantley snapped.

"Silence!" Loki hissed, "You are fools to deny this gift I bring, the gift of serving under me as I show this world what true leadership is."

Brantley snorted, "You say leadership, I say dictatorship. You say gift of serving, I say enslavement. "

Loki just chuckled, "It's all the same, just depends on what your point of view is, that's all."

Brantley fired her arrows, then another, and another, Loki simply weaving in and out of her attacks, and then started shooting ice back at her. She tucked her bow away, rolling and flipping through the air, dodging every shard shot at her.

Loki cackled, "This isn't doing you any good!"

Brantley jumped up on the overturned Jeep, springing off of it, to launch her self at Loki. Her threw ice shards at her in mid air, but she simply used one of her throwing knives to bat them away form her as she slammed into him, knocking him to the ground.

She put her knife up against his throat, the other pulled back, ready to punch, "What did you do to the Avengers?"

Tyson looked up, one of Jade's hands already free from the ice, the other still encased in it. "Wait, he's the one who took them?"

"Learn to connect the dots Kerosene!" Brantley snapped.

Loki laughed from the ground, "I'd suggest getting a less hostile nature, especially in front of _them_."

"Who?" Brantley asked, pressing the knife blade harder against his neck.

"Uh, Brantley?" Jade mumbled.

"I'm in the middle of an interrogation here Gunpoint."

Tyson finally snapped, "For the love of God, look behind you!"

Brantley tossed a glance over her shoulder, seeing six figures descending from the skies. Bruce and Natasha were being held by Thor, while Iron Man carried Hawkeye and Captain America.

Brantley let a relived smile slid onto her face, "Well, it's about time you guys showed up. Thor, how the hell did this guy get out of Asguardian prison?"

The minute Hawkeye touched the ground, he loaded his bow, pointing it at Brantley and Loki, "Get off of him."

Brantley rolled her eyes, "Look Clint, don't worry, I've got a knife to his-"

"Get off of him, or I'll blow your head off." Natasha pitched in, aiming her gun at Brantley's head.

Brantley paused for a moment, before it finally clicked. Oh snap. Natasha had always had green eyes, but now they were a blazing blue that gave Brantley's a run for their money. Brantley quickly tossed the knife away, standing up slowly, and backing away from Loki as the frost giant stood, smirking at the three teenagers.

Jade squared her shoulders, glaring at Loki, her hands clenching over her guns. Tyson quickly got the message, noticing that the sudden fact of every one of the Avengers having bright blue eyes was not exactly a _good _thing. He raised his hands slowly, not used to people pointing guns, hammers, shields, green fists, repulser blasts, and arrows at him.

Loki's grin reminded Jade of the Cheshire cat, especially when his eyes met hers, "Weapons down please."

Jade glared right back at him, refusing to drop her weapons.

"I said, weapons down."

Brantley looked at her friend out of the corner of her eyes warily, "Jade, don't be a hero."

Jade didn't return her gaze, "That's what they trained us to be, Brantley."

Brantley's eyes widened, and she raised her arms up slowly too, trying to fake like she was surrendering, but as soon as her thumb was ear level, she tapped the side of her com link, turning it on, then quickly talking to take the heat off of Jade, "Oh come on Loki, you've tried this once, it didn't work. What makes you think it's going to work now?"

Loki seemed to forget about Jade's guns, or just decided it wouldn't matter of she used them or not, he did have the Avengers at his back. "Isn't there a saying on your planet, if at first you don't succeed, try, try again?"

Brantley snorted, "Yeah, they also say on my planet that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over, expecting different results. You fit in there pretty damn well, psycho."

Hawkeye's arrow flew past her head, grazing her cheek, and leaving a hair thin cut. He snarled at her, "Don't talk to _my _king that way!"

Brantley felt something snap inside of her at the obvious devotion and care in Hawkeye's eyes for Loki. She glared at the trickster king, "What the _hell _did you do to him?"

Loki gave a careless shrug, "I showed him the truth."

"What _is _the truth?" Tyson snapped.

Bruce spoke up, "Tyson, I know it seems impossible at first, but trust me, to have this kind of knowledge, it's simply… unfathomable. It's the best thing that's _ever _happened to me."

Jackson's voice sounded in Brantley's ear, "_Brantley, please tell me that's not what I think it is_."

Brantley sighed, "Well then, Loki has returned to earth, is now mind controlling all the Avengers, and we're stranded in the middle of the desert, with no chances of a S.H.I.E.L.D. pick up, considering you all were probably the ones who attacked it, am I right?"

Iron Man shrugged, "We had to, they were against Loki."

Natasha nodded, "An unfortunate loss, none of them would surrender, to join in his glorious purpose."

"_More like glorious daddy issues mixed with his issues involving his tiny frost covered ding a ling_." Jackson sneered.

Brantley bit down on her lip, trying to cover up her laughter, it turned into more of a snort/chortle/gag type of sound. Jade looked at her like she was crazy, "Brantley, are you… _laughing_?"

"No!" Brantley snapped.

"_I mean, I'm only twelve, and I've probably got three inches on the guy_." Jackson continued.

Brantley could help it, she laughed, and that laugh turned into a snort, which turned into a full out chortle. Tyson and Jade looked at her like she was crazy.

"_If you think that's funny Archer girl, I've got about seven jokes about your alias. Other than that, you ever played one of those claw machines_?"

Brantley's laughter immediately stopped, "Wait, you mean like the ones outside Wal-Mart?"

"_Yeah, let's recreate that, shall we_?" Jackson asked.

"What are you- oh God." Brantley sighed, addressing Jade and Tyson, "Guys, I suggest reaching as high as you can, and clenching up."

They both stared at her.

"Now!"

They immediately shot their hands up as high as they could, and Jackson's voices sounded in Brantley's ear again, "_Perfect, now lets pray my claw machine is up to par_."

"I hate you Jackson."

Hawkeye suddenly stiffened, "Sir, Longshot is in communication with Jackson Stark, and they're arranging a pick up."

Before anyone could say anything else, something blue and red shot out from the sky, clamping around Brantley, Jade, and Tyson's wrists. It yanked them up into the air, making them all cry out at the sudden pain. Tyson screamed when he saw what the blue and red mess of wire and metal plates was yanking them towards. The bottom of a jet.

"We're going to die!" Tyson shouted above the wind as it whipped at them from all sides.

Jade and Brantley gave each other a look, then returned the look to Tyson.

"What!?" He shouted, not sure why they weren't also panicking.

"Ah know Jackson Stark's work when Ah see it!" Jade explained.

"Yeah, and this has Jackson written all over it!" Brantley groaned.

True to their suspicions, when they got closer to the jet, the bottom of it opened up, and the wires pulled them inside. As the bottom of the jet closed, they were dumped on the floor. Brantley sucked in a quick breath as the metal wires detached themselves from her wrists, and she sprung up, staring at Jackson as he walked in, full armor. "Ladies, ladies, and _oh_, a black lady! Say hello to your savior, Jackson Stark."

Tyson glared at Jackson, "Shut up, ya cracker."

Brantley shook Jade off of her, walking past Jackson and into the cockpit, seeing Thain sitting in the pilot's seat, "Thain!?"

"Oh, hi." Thain said, smiling, "Uh, yeah, I am here because Jackson, though brilliant, cannot fly a jet."

Brantley snorted, reaching for the headset, "Doesn't surprise me, I need to call Director Fury and-"

"No." Thain said, "You can't, well, you could, but he is in critical."

Brantley paused, "Uh, Agent Hill then-"

"Also critical." Jackson shot down, entering the cockpit. Tyson and Jade were right behind him.

"Okay, then temporary control of S.H.I.E.L.D. falls to Lieutenant-"

"Dead." Jackson informed.

Brantley gripped the headset tightly, "Damn. How does the Special Ops section look?"

"Any that were on board were either killed, or mauled. And all contact with the ones who weren't are wiped out." Jackson explained, "And that section of people that spy on other countries all day long, what's it called? Analytics? Yeah, it's just… gone, all of it. Everything's gone!"

Brantley shook her head, "Get me to the helicarrier, we'll regroup with Clyde and Tama, and then I'll assess the damage, and report to the highest authority."

The flight to the helicarrier was mostly silent. Thain was sitting in the pilot's seat, and Brantley in co-pilot. The others were in the back. Thain reached over with one hand, resting it on Brantley's shoulder, "It will be alright моя любовь." _My love._

"You know I only know like, three words in Russian, right?" Brantley asked.

"Какой именно поэтому я не называю вам, что в английском языке." _Which is exactly why I don't call you that in English._

"Now you're just teasing me." Brantley laughed.

"Иногда я спрашиваю это потому, что я боюсь отказа, или обязательства." _Sometimes I wonder if it's because I'm afraid of rejection, or commitment._

Brantley shook her head, "Just drive Thain, and enough with the Russian."

Jade suddenly poked her head in, "Ah however, speak fluent Russian, and have acceptable hearing."

Thain whirled around to stare at Jade, "Пожалуйста, не говорите." _Please don't tell._

Jade smiled, "Вы ей больно, я сломаю ногу." _You hurt her, I'll break your leg._

"What is he saying?" Brantley asked.

"Just teasing you shugah." Jade batted off.

"Hey look!" Thain interrupted, "We're here!"

They unloaded in the hanger, and Brantley couldn't believe her eyes. The helicarrier was only barely hanging above the water, and smoke was pouring from nearly every part.

Jackson immediately took off, fixing anything he could. Brantley spotted a lot of Weapons and Development agents scurrying around, fixing everything. She rushed into the main room, seeing a lot of glorified EMT's rushing around, treating everyone. Clyde was also in the mix. He would seek out the agents breaths from dying, and take away the worst of their injuries, saving their lives, before moving on. He tried to keep his own obvious pain hidden, but there was only so much the eleven year old could take before his eyes would start watering.

Brantley worked her way through S.H.I.E.L.D., passing section after section, seeing nothing but destruction, until she got to S.H.I.E.L.D. forensics.

She ran into the squint's lab, seeing Jason, on the floor, cradling a broken arm. "Brant…"

Brantley rushed over, seeing the tip of the bone sticking out, "Jason, where's Cam?"

Jason let out a small sob, either at the pain or the mention of Cam. "I don't know, once the explosions started, she said she was going to check on our interns to make sure they were okay, and I haven't seen her since."

"Why haven't you gone looking for her?' Brantley asked.

Jason looked up, meeting her gaze, "Because I'm not a field agent Brant. It's all out war out there, and I'm a coward."

Brantley clapped a hand down on his shoulder, "I'll find her."

"Dr. Jason!" Came a startled voice, as two young boys and one girl ran in, dragging Cam with them, "Please, help!"

Jason looked up, eyes wide, "Oh my God, Cam!"

The two boys lifted Cam up, placing her down on one of the examination tables. Jason leaned over her, inspecting all her various injuries. There was a fair amount of blood, and from her small amount of training, Brantley would have to say that she was hit by shrapnel, several times. Cam had thrown herself in front of these kids. Brantley finally looked up to see them, and discovered she really shouldn't be calling them kids. All of them were around twenty, and probably no older than twenty-three.

Tallest one was a blonde, his hair kept up in a high and tight, big blue eyes, and over all an innocent look. The girl was a different matter entirely. Under the standard white lab coat was completely black clothing. Blake baggy jeans and a tight black t-shirt. Dark eyeliner, black fingernails, demonic look to her. Daddy problems. Obviously. The last guy, looked pretty normal, except he had no lab coat, just red skinny jeans and a light blue graphic t-shirt with Pac-Man figures on it. Only thing really odd about him was the classy fedora he had on, a dark brown, nearly black color, with a fancy brim.

The blonde spoke up, "I'm sorry Jason, you… man, you should have seen her!"

The gothic girl nodded, "Yeah, she busted into the room we were being held in, and she took out the AIM agents keeping us there, all by herself! I didn't think Cam was a field agent."

Brantley stared at Jason, who gave a heartless laugh, "She's not, she just can't stand the thought of being physically helpless. Let me guess, probably took out at least two guys right, then guided you kids back up here, shielding you from shrapnel?"

The last boy nodded, a thick brutish accent slipping out of his tone, "Oh yes, she was, dare I say, Super Woman. Took out the four men guarding us, and five on the way back here!"

Brantley shook her head, "Damn, I have clearly underestimated Cam."

Jason ran a hand over Cam's injuries, "You don't know the half of it."

"Is she going to be okay!?" The blonde boy asked desperately, "I mean, is she gonna die!? Is she dead!?"

"Calm down Wendell." Jason ordered. "For a guy who claims to want to work around dead people, you don't seem very relaxed at the idea of it."

"People who are already dead, sure! But my brand new boss, who just saved my life eight time in five minutes, no I don't like that!" Wendell complained.

The goth chick reached up, slapping him upside the head, "Sit down, and shut up. Dr. Jason, I don't see any injuries that suggest death, but then again, I'm not experienced with fleshy remains, so, your call."

"WILL SOMEBODY JUST PLEASE TELL ME IF SHE'S GOING TO DIE OR NOT!?" Brantley exploded.

Jason looked up at her, shocked, "Uh, yeah. She'll be fine."

Brantley took a deep breath, collapsing down into a nearby chair, "Thank God, because Jason, with all the other heads of S.H.I.E.L.D. dead or in critical, Cam is in charge of everyone now."


	33. Little Lion Man

Everybody, with your fists raised high

Stand aside on the frontline

Everybody, with your fists raised high

Let me hear your battle cry

Everybody, with your fists raised high

Let me hear your battle cry tonight

Stand beside, or step aside

We're on the frontline

_Frontline - Pillar_

Cam stared at Brantley from the hospital bed, "So, I'm in charge?"

Brantley nodded. "Yes, so what do we do?"

Cam looked at Jason, then to Brantley, "Brantley, sweetie, I have absolutely no idea."

Brantley stared at her, "Excuse me?"

Cam gestured around the lab, "This is my element Brantley, dead bodies, bones, cause of death, that's me. I have no idea what to do in a war Brantley, and that's exactly what this Loki guy has forced us into."

Brantley stood up, "But- no! cam, you're in charge, you have all of S.H.I.E.L.D. backing you, do something!"

She shook her head, "No, you do something. War, fighting, battle, that's your forte. I can't tell you what to do right now, just like you can't tell me how our twenty year old John Doe 87 died. I'm just forensics."

Brantley sank back down in her chair, running her hands through her ragged brown hair, "But… I don't know who to go to! You were the last one in line, all we have left is your handful of interns, thirteen analysts, and my department."

Thain spoke up from across the room, "You're forgetting ze accountants, zere's… well, me left." (Yes, I learned how to write a Russian accent! Instead of writing dat, I need to write zat! Whoo hoo! Who's the best author eva!? Bow down, bow down!)

Jason nodded, "You're forgetting something Brantley, in the even of a leader being unfit for duty, they can appoint any active serviceman to take their position."

Brantley nodded, "Okay, so which one of your squinterns are you gonna pick?"

Jason frowned, "Squintern?"

"A squint intern. You guys are squints, those are your interns." Brantley mumbled, "My attempt at humor."

Cam chuckled, "Well, none of them. Those kids can barely tell the difference between brittle bone disease and a leukemia condition."

Brantley stared at Cam, "Uh…"

Jason spoke up, "Very bad sicknesses. First one, not so much, second one, terminal."

Thain spoke up, "Zis is not getting us anyvhere, who are you picking?"

Cam turned to Brantley, "Agent Evans."

Brantley's eyes widened, "Cam, I-"

Jason interrupted, "Name one other operative here with more field experience, who isn't already dead or in critical."

Brantley's mouth opened, and then closed. She ground her teeth together, suddenly realizing this yes, this was indeed happening, and now what she had to do."

Cam spoke up again, "Agent Evans, I request you relieve me of duty, as I am no longer fit."

Brantley took a deep breath, "I relieve you of active duty."

Cam smiled, "And I am relieved. Now, Brantley, what are you gonna do?"

Brantley bit her lower lip, before looking up at Thain, "Thain, I'm going to need all the files on every agent we have left. Including your squinterns, Cam."

Cam nodded, "Sure."

Jason got up and grabbed the files from his desk, "Well, I have them right here, but take it easy on those kids Brantley, it's their first day."

Brantley tucked the files under her arm, "I don't choose when the wars begin Jason."

Thain and her left, walking quickly down the hall, "So, vat are you going to do moya lyubovʹ." _My love._

"First of all, stop speaking Russian, I can't flippin' understand _any _of it!" Brantley groaned, "And another thing, I want five minutes with the council. I need to let them know what's going on."

Thain nodded, "I'll tell Jackson. Anything else?"

Brantley nodded, "Jackson is now temporarily in charge of Weapons and Development, Jade is in charge of the few special ops we have left, which is pretty much just our team, oh, and after I talk with the council I want all the agents from my sector and Cam's squinterns in the war room."

Thain nodded, "I'll take care of it."

**IN FRONT OF THE COUNCIL:**

I stood army style in front of the council, arms crossed behind my back, legs straight, at attention,. "And because the director of forensics, Cam, feels ill fit for duty, she has put me in charge."

The council was silent for a moment, all staring at me, until one of the men spoke up, "And we're supposed to have faith that a teenage girl can run SHIELD? In the middle of a war we barely won last time. How do you expect us to do this?"

I swallowed the lump in my throat. "I don't expect you to blindly trust me. I expect you to look at my service record. I may not have been employed for long, but I've taken down seven terrorist plots, three leaks, and eighteen cold cases. Every single one of them has been resolved, and that is what I expect you to put your faith in. I have never let SHIELD down, and I certainly won't now."

A woman spoke up, "We gave you harder missions than you were qualified for because we wanted two things from you. We wanted a soldier on Squad 87, to have some semblance control in our freelancers. And we wanted to know your limits, in case you were to ever be compromised. I doubt that this test will be failed by you. And I say we let Agent Evans have a shot at this."

They all started voicing their opinions one right after the other. "She's just a child! Admittedly, a well trained one who has been quite useful, as a soldier, but a general? I am opposed."

"She has never failed us before, and I doubt she will now. She has heart, and if she felt there was someone better suited to this job, I know she'd step down. But let's face facts, she's the best we have down there."

"I say we put Thain in charge of everything, he may be a terrible field agent, but he's more suitable to something like this."

"Thain lacks any type of skill needed in that position. He's an accountant, and a secretary. Nothing more, Agent Evans is the one for the job."

The last man sighed, "I am the tie breaker then, hmm? Very well. Agent Evans, don't screw this up, or you'll find yourself in the national guard. Understood?"

National guard? Not even the marines!? Or delta force? Or the green berets? I don't wanna be a national guard! "Yes sir."

**LATER, WITH BRANTLEY:**

I stared at the very small gathering of agents we had left, consisting of a few people from my department and Cam's squinterns, before glancing back down at the files of Cam's squints.

The blonde boy, Wendell, he had an impressive IQ and test scores. What stood out to me more was his background in boxing and wrestling.

The girl that looked goth enough to be Satan's daughter, her background was mostly poetry readings and lots of therapy with a little suicide watch mixed in. If she was dark enough for that, that she could pull a trigger when she had to. Her name was Fisher.

The last guy, with the fancy fedora and British accent, he had run track in high school, and set the state record. His name was Nigel. Maybe he could be fast enough for a punch? He had grown up as the only white child in a very bad Ghetto, so he knew how to scrap at least. Use a gun, maybe as well.

The rest of them, the people in my department, they had all gone through basic survival training and hand to hand combat. I could probably fight all of them at once, and come out with a few bruises, maybe. But they were the best I had.

"I'm not going to lie to you people." I said, trying to keep a firm voice as my team walked in, joining the other agents. "We've lost a lot of good agents, and we are all that remains of S.H.I.E.L.D. now. We're outmanned, out gunned, and probably out of our minds to try and win this. But hey, we've always made our living off of insane ideas, right?"

Tyson spoke up, "Brantley, if you're here to try and inspire a bunch of secretaries into fighting a war, you've completely flipped!"

I glared at him, "Tyson, keep your mouth shut. I know the people of my department better than you do."

I turned back to the last agents, "You all have more potential than any of you let on, whether it's because you're comfortable in rank, or you don't know the value of it. But we _need _field agents, and it _can't _be anyone from Squad 87, because we need a response team to draw off the Avengers."

I turned to the board behind me, as all of you know, S.H.I.E.L.D. communications are down, and we need to put them back up, the tech team, led by Jackson Stark, has managed to fix the issues on our end. We need to get down to the receivers, one on each continent of the globe. I need seven teams, each with a tech agent, and several field agents. I've gone over all of your files, and I know what you're each qualified for. I want at least seven agents monitoring each of the teams from here. I want a medical professional on every team. And, Eleanor, I want every file we have about Loki's last attack."

I turned to the small gaggle of squinterns, "Wendell, Fisher, and Nigel, you three are responsible for organizing the teams. If there's a gap on the team fill it yourself."

Eleanor spoke up, "I've got the file right here Brantley."

I took it, skimming over the area bout Loki's staff. Oh hell no.

I looked up, "Right, teams dispatch, Squad 87 come with me."

I ran back up to the squint lab, seeing Cam on the examination table, Jason sitting beside her.

"Jason, where's the staff?" I snapped.

He looked up at me, "Brant, I don't know what you're talking about."

"Loki's staff, the one he used to control Hawkeye last time he came, the Avengers are under his control right now, but it says here that the staff is in a location, known only by General Fury, Agent Hill, The Council, and the lab technician that did all the research on Loki's staff. I read the file Jason, you're the technician."

Jason stared at me, "Brantley, I'm not under leave to tell you the location, General Fury swore me to secrecy-"

"General Fury isn't here right now!" I snapped, "I'm the general right now, I'm running S.H.I.E.L.D., and you work for me! Tell where the damn staff is!"

Jason paused, looking at Cam, she nodded to him, and he turned back to me, "I'll take you there."


	34. Pit Of Evil

"Are you sure they're gonna show up Brantley?" Jackson asked over the link.

"Of course I am." Brantley replied, as she drove across the desert at an alarming speed of over 200 miles an hour. "And for the last time, we're in the field. You call me Long Shot."

Jade piped up from the passenger seat, looking into the back seat to peer at Jason. "So you said that they contained the staff in a vault… in the middle of the desert?"

Jason nodded, "Hard to get to, maximum security, ideal place."

"Why not just send it to Area 51?" Jackson asked over the link, jokingly.

Clyde giggled, "Yeah, why not?"

Jason rolled his eyes, "Boys, do you even know what's in Area 51?"

"… No." Jackson admitted.

"Well, I do." Jason explained. "And I can clearly tell that a staff containing magical properties does not belong in _that _place boys."

Jackson was silent for a moment, "Dude, how do you know?"

Jason smirked, "I had a job there a few years back, before I transferred to S.H.I.E.L.D. and found the gir-" Jason coughed suddenly, holding his chest in pain. "Ugh, job of my dreams."

Thain looked at Jason with concern, "Are you okay?"

Brantley and Jade both chorused, "He's fine."

Jackson snorted, "Why did we bring the walking calculator?"

Brantley sighed, "I didn't mean to, he just kept speaking in Russian, until I didn't care anymore!"

"Stop! Stop!" Jason shouted.

Brantley hit the brakes hard, and everyone inside the jeep groaned at the sudden yank. Jackson and Tama, who had been flying outside, laughed at their misfortune.

Jason jumped out of the car, toting his computer, and running up to a seemingly random spot in the sand. "We're here!"

He set his computer down, pressed a few buttons, then a door rose from the ground.

Jade's mouth dropped open, "Uh, what the hell…"

"That about sums it up." Jackson agreed.

"Cool." Clyde grinned.

Tama shuffled behind Tyson a little, "This is freaky, like the movie Paranormal!"

Brantley raised an eyebrow at Tama, "When did you see that movie?"

"Jackson made me watch it."

Jade, Brantley, and Tyson all glared at Jackson.

"What?" He asked, shrugging.

"I'm gonna-"

"What?" He asked, "Whatcha gonna do Brantley? Oh my bad, Long Shot! Whatcha gonna do Long Shot? Cause ever since you've become leader of this team, you've been nothing but talk! So tell me, what are you going to do?"

Brantley crossed her arms, glaring at him, "I'm going to tell your mother, the second this mission is over!"

Jackson was so glad that his helmet was on, because even after living with the man of gambling, not even his poker face would have withstood that blow. "Gah- I mean, yeah! See if I care it's… just my mother, I'm not afraid of my mother."

"Fate of the world at stake here kiddies!" Jason snapped.

Brantley turned back towards the door, seeing that it wasn't really a door, more like a very small building with a door in front. It was about the size of a port-o-potty, but looked nothing like one. The walls were steel, but had been painted over the same color of the sand. Brantley guessed it was for camouflage, but the bright blue color of the door itself defeated the purpose.

"Okay." Brantley said, turning back to the team, "Tama, you're going to stay out here as lookout, if the Avengers come, radio us over the link. Everyone else, follow me down. I'll go in first, Jason you're right behind me, than Jackson, then Clyde, then Tyson, and then Jade brings up the rear. And, people, stealth. For the love of God, stealth."

Brantley opened the door, showing a ladder going down. "… Who the hell thought of this?"

Jason beamed, "I did!"

"Of course."

Brantley went down slowly, the minute she hit the ground, she took out her bow, loaded it with an arrow, and looked around the dimly lit hallway. She didn't see anyone. "Clear."

One by one, they all crept down the ladder into the darkness, following Brantley silently. Jason whispered in Brantley's ear, "Brant, I know exactly where it's stored. But we've got to go through some pretty nasty areas to get to it."

Brantley nodded, stopping at an elevator, pressing the down button. No one spoke as the doors opened, and they began the journey down. Everyone could feel the heavy tension. The Avengers might already be down here, and if they were, they would be expected, they would be obligated, to take them out. Permanently.

Clyde broke the silence as they slowly descended, "What is this place anyways?"

Jason types in combinations hastily on his computer, "Glad you asked kid, this is where every dirty secret of S.H.I.E.L.D. goes. From terrorist weapons of mass destruction, to magical items that we can't crack into, and the most dangerous people on the planet."

Jackson flipped the helmet of his armor up, "Wait, there are people down here!?"

Jason smirked, "Oh yeah kid, about… five people. Maybe more, I haven't checked in a few weeks."

"How are there even mice down here?" Jade asked, concern on her face.

"We have a fully computerized system. They inmates are fed, cleaned up after, and enforced by all machines. These people are the most twisted, evil, rotten scum I've ever met." Jason explained. They're the only people who will never see the light of day again. They have dim red lights in their cells, but that's it. They wake up, get their flavorless meals handed in to them, they sit there, get more food, sit there, get more food, and then go to sleep."

Jade couldn't have been more horrified. "But, that's, inhuman!"

"So are the criminals down here." Brantley said as the elevator doors opened, "And they deserve every bit of this. Keep your guard up, and whatever you do, don't talk to any of them. They'll get inside your head and turn it inside out with one statement."

They crept down the hallway, bar cells on either side of them, red lights coming from them, casting an eerie glow over them all.

Tyson couldn't help but give one cell a side glance as he walked past, and saw a man made entirely of metal. Some areas of him looked jagged, as if large parts had been taken off of him, including most of his arms. There was nothing past his elbows. Tubes ran from his body, into a plastic box on the wall, fluids rushing in and out of him.

Tyson stopped walking, staring at the metal man.

"Tyson!" Brantley hissed, "Let's go."

The metal man's eyes suddenly lit up, glowing dark red, but not as dark as the red light in his cell. "Ah, Jason Hodgins, a human mind rivaling my own intellect. I am deeply insulted, one such as you, reduced to caring for infants."

Jackson glared at him, "What did he just call us?"

Jason grabbed Jackson by his shoulder, steering him away, "Keep walking, we don't have time for this."

They walked quicker now, Tyson deeply disturbed, "What was that.. That thing!?"

Jason sighed, "His name is Ultron, and he's the closest thing to artificial life that has ever been made by man. Needless to say, the project went horribly wrong."

"Uh, duh." Jackson snapped, "Why does he look so much like my father's first Iron Man?"

Jason met Jackson's eyes, and Brantley could tell he didn't want to tell him the truth, but Jackson deserved the truth, "We modeled him after some earlier models of your fathers armor."

Jackson glared at him, "Why!?"

"Before we recruited your father, the council wanted an Iron Man that wasn't a complete narcissistic moron." Jason explained, "Me and another brilliant, but not so brilliant as me, scientist named Hank Pym worked on him, and not a day goes by that we don't regret it."

The robot's voice rang out form down the hall, "Jason, we all know what's really going on now that you're in the very prison you designed. I have run the numbers, and you Jason Hodgins, will not survive the next twenty-four hours."

Brantley cleared her throat, "No more looking, we can't trust any of these people down here, and I don't want _anyone _talking to them. There's a reason no human being is allowed to be down here."

Something zipped through the air, right past Brantley's throat, and embedded itself into the wall. Brantley flipped backwards, landing in a crouch on the floor, pointed her bow at the cage it had come from.

Jade drew her twin pistols, aiming at the cell, and Clyde looked to the wall, grabbing what had been thrown at Brantley, and pulled it out of the wall. Hardened paper wrapped tightly around the hammered end of a nail. "It's a shank."

"You're clearly a dumb one." Came the underlie amused voice from the cell.

Jason stiffened, "Brantley, ignore him."

"Brantley? Oh! I've heard _so _much about you from that idiot of a marksman the Avengers tote around." A man stepped to the edge of the cage, grinning ear to ear. He was bald, and had a mark on his forehead, it was either a tattoo, or a scar, in the shape of a bullseye.

If Brantley was scared, she didn't let it show. "Hawkeye has been here recently?"

The man snorted, "I don't wanna talk about him, I wanna talk to _you_."

"Not gonna happen Hannibal wannabe." Brantley diced off, "You can either answer my question, or we can move down the line."

Jason grabbed Brantley's shoulders, "Brant, seriously, let's just keep going! That's Bullseye, a.k.a. Lester, and he's not Hawkeye's biggest fan-"

"Bullseye?" Brantley asked. She had been told so many horror stories about this guy from Clint. He had known no prison would ever hold Bullseye forever, and he had drilled into her what to do should she ever see him. Run the hell away as fast as she could, and keep looking over to shoulder to make sure there were no pointy things being thrown at her retreating figure.

But… this was different, bullseye had a serious grudge against Hawkeye. All of the Avengers. And all of S.H.I.E.L.D.

"You see." Bullseye spoke up, "They offered me, all of us, a way out of here. Wanted to recruit us to take over the world for that robe wearing guy. Bozo looked like he was on his way to Comic-con. But none of us wanted to join a group of brainwashed Avengers. We just wanted to kill them. And that robe guy didn't exactly like that idea. He wanted to keep his little pawns, as trophies, satisfaction for his last defeat. Can't say I blame the guy, I think that would be awesome."

Thain brushed Jason aside, wrapping his arms around Brantley's shoulders, "Moy lyubovnik," _My lover,_ "It is not wise to speak to this man, let's just go on."

"Aw." Lester mocked, "She's got a clueless little boy toy. Tell me sweet heart, are you attracted to weak men because they're less threatening? But why are you threatened by men? Did one hurt you? No, but tons tried to didn't they? I know your story, been on the streets since you were eleven, you're a small girl, lots of big boys out there. How many times did it happen a day? How may timed did they succeed? How many of them did you kill before they could?"

"Shut up!" Brantley screamed. "Just _shut up_!"

His grin got even bigger, "Looks like I hit the nail on the head."

Thain tried to pull Brantley away, but she shook him off, "Tell me where the Avengers are _**now**_!"

Bullseye lifted a hand to lazily rest it on the edge of the bars, pointing at a door barely visible in the red light. "Looking for some weird glowing stick behind that door."

The moment the words left his mouth, the aforementioned door swung open, and Hawkeye and Black Widow stepped out, flanking Loki who held the staff high above his head with pride.

"Ah, children." Loki smirked, "It's about time a few secrets were cleared up."

His eyes scanned over their party as each and every one of them readied their weapons, except Jason, who took a few steps back behind Brantley.

Thain touched his link, "Uh, Tama? Yes, I am going to need you to fly back to ze helicarrier, and uh, just tell zem all ve von't be back anytime soon."

"I will make haste, my odd speaking team mate!"

"Ah, yes, very good!" Thain agreed enthusiastically. He turned back to Brantley, "now, uh, vat are ve going to do?"

Brantley stared at Loki, Hawkeye, and Black Widow. "We're just… well. We're going to have to hit Natasha and Clint over the head, very hard, and were going to blow up Loki's staff, and then just, uh, send him back to Asguard on a stretcher."

Loki shook his head, chuckling, "I'm afraid we don't have time for what I'm sure would be a very interesting battle, I only need to speak to two in your party. The rest of you, are of no use to me."

Loki lifted his hand, in and a bright flash, the only people left standing in the hallway were Loki, Natasha, Clint, Brantley, and Clyde.

The others were no where to be seen.

Clyde looked like he was about o hyper ventilate, and Brantley immediately strode to the right, getting in between Clyde and the three targets. "What did you do to my team!?"

"Former, team." Loki corrected, "And do not fear, they have merely been sent back to that accursed plane of yours."

Clyde spoke up, "Brantley, what are we gonna do?"

Brantley cast a quick glance as the boy behind her, and slowly and deliberately started stepping to the left. As if she was trying to circle Loki. Clyde got the message, stepping with her, staying behind her. "Well, Clyde, what we do next depends on one thing."

She stopped walking, three feet in front of Bullseye's cell, "How much do you hate Clint, Lester?"


	35. Remember Everything

Before Lester could even start to answer, Clint's eyes widened in panic, and he let go of his bow with one hand, stepping forward, holding his hand out as a stop gesture, "Brantley, get away from him!"

Maybe he wasn't buried as far down as I thought. But I still had to find a way out of this. If Bullseye could go one on one with Electra, if Lester could scare the man with no fear, then maybe his wild card could get us out of here. And to be honest, I'd rather unleash Lester on the world than any of the other people down here. I knew better than any of my team why these people deserved to be down here, and I know because I put one down here. I'm just glad I haven't run into _him _yet.

"Lester, how much do you hate Clint?"

Something rustled in my quiver, and I'm suddenly yanked back against the bars, my own arrow pressed against my throat. "Enough to kill his precious little girl!"

"If you hurt her Lester," Clint threatens, "You'll have me and Natasha to deal with. You can't dodge arrows _and _bullets."

Clyde stares up at me in a panic, and I can't imaging how unsettling this must be for him. He can't fight anything other than a punching bag, and the only thing that stands between him and one of the Avengers worst villains is me. And I'm being held hostage by one of the most deadly assassins on the planet.

If I didn't have enough sense to _not step to close to the cage_, how the hell am I supposed to take on the Avengers?

Bullseye slowly let me go, then shoved be forward. The movement caught me off balance, and Clint took advantage of that. He grabbed my elbow, and kicked my legs out from under me, making me fall on my back. Then he drove his knee into my stomach. I couldn't help but cough and sputter, trying to get air again. He wrestled my bow out of my hands, and then took one of my knives away from my belt, holding it to my neck.

He stared down at me, so emotionless that I realized whatever protective instinct that had made him call out to me earlier, was because Loki wanted me alive. Loki doesn't care if I'm hurt, but he does need me alive, for the moment. There's a reason he sent the others away and kept me and Clyde here. I'm just not so sure I wanna know what it is.

Loki smirked down at me as I squirmed, "Don't harm her to much, we still need her."

Need me? Oh hell, I am not getting turned into one of his brainwashed pawns! I'll take myself out first.

Loki looked away from me, to a trembling Clyde, "After years of planning, over a decade of heartbreak, I finally see you."

Clyde took half a step back, and slowly pulled his hands up, curling them into fists. You have got to be kidding me. The minute we get the Avengers un-brainwashed, I'm telling you, the very second we're in the clear, I'm kicking Steve's ass for not teaching this kid more!

I tried to buck Clint off of me, but all that did was make him hold me down tighter, pushing a blade against my throat. "Clyde, run!"

Loki stepped closer to Clyde, "Pay her worries no mind, you have nothing to fear, my son."

I froze, ceasing my struggles to stare at Loki. Clyde's defenses lowered, "W-what?"

"In all my foes on Asguard, one woman still cared for me after I returned from trying to conquer Midguard. Her name is Sif. She visited me often in prison, and she had great influence over the guards. Her and I entered into a very irregular courtship, and she eventually became with child." Loki regaled.

That's the first time I ever really _looked _at Clyde. His green eyes, his blonde hair, his hair line… none of it was condemning. But his jaw line, it was just like a Loki's. His ear shape, nose shape, I can't believe it took me until now- no, you know what, no. How could I be expected, to expect that!?

"So I saw an opportunity to restate my claim over Midguard." Loki grinned, "One piece of the puzzle was already in place. So I sent you down here, as the second piece of the puzzle."

Clyde shook his head, "N-no. No! I am not, you're not my father!"

He backed away form Loki, getting dangerously close to Lester's bars, but Lester didn't even seem interested in what Clyde was going on about, his gaze hadn't left me. We needed to get the hell out of here, now!

Loki put a hand on Clyde's shoulder, bring him closer, "Do not deny me. I have no time to waste, more truth waits to be revealed."

He pulled Clyde in front of him, facing me on the ground, "Ah, the first piece of the puzzle."

Alright, I could use what Natasha told me once, and do the whole honey and the hatchet trick. Give him the honey, and while he's going over how sweet it is, hit him with the hatchet! Or, I could just do what Clint told me, take a step back, and look at everything from a distance.

… Not gonna work with Clint sitting on top of me. Or with the knew knowledge that Clyde is… the spawn of Loki. Loki. Why did it have to be Loki!? So, Clyde is half frost giant now, what? Asguardian origins would explain his hair, that's for sure.

So, what do I do?

Better just do what my older brother Jason taught me to do. Be a little punk ass about _everything_.

"Piss off, dead beat." I snapped.

He chuckled, and Clint pushed the knife closer, drawing a thin line of blood. "Don't talk to my king that way!"

I could have thought this through a bit more. But what really grinds my gears is that Clint is so dedicated to this guy! You can tell, every word he speaks, he's ready to jump off a cliff, into a pool of broken beer bottles and rusty nails for Loki.

"Tell me, archer. What do you remember of the night Charles Bernard Barton died?" Loki asked, "He was more informally called 'Barney' by many."

"First off, you talk weird. Second of all, yes you asshole!" I snapped, "That's my father you're talking about, and unless you want my arrow up your ass, you'll stop talking about him, right now!"

Lester suddenly chucked, "Man, kid, you are in for one screwed up story."

This was bad, I needed to get Clyde out of here. He looked like he was about to throw up. Whatever Loki had planned for Clyde, weapon of mass destruction, hostage, I had to stop it. Just one problem, I've never exactly been trained for this situation.

Loki spoke up again, "Hawkeye, do tell her who Barney was to you."

Clint didn't skip a beat. "Barney Barton was my older brother."

No. I couldn't think anything except for that one word. No. My father didn't have a brother. Clint Barton, was _not _my uncle. Tons of people have the same last name, but they aren't _related _to each other! Clint isn't my uncle.

Loki shook his head, "Let's clear up your memory a bit."

He leaned forward, his staff nearing my face. I started struggling more than before, grabbing Hawkeye's wrist, and trying to pull the knife away from him, but it didn't do anything. The end of Loki's staff touched my forehead, and everything went black.

_I walked through the outskirts of the circus tent, around the edge, peering into the doors to see the show. Jason juggled flaming torches, every now and then eating the flames, or spitting them out for the crowd._

_I fingered my throwing knives, I was going up next. A quick look down at my costume, make sure all the blue and purple spandex is in place. Boots? Buckled. Cape? Tied. Belt? Uh oh… where did it go?_

"_Excuse me?"_

_I looked behind me, seeing a tall man in a black hoodie smiling down at me. The hood was pulled up, so high I could only see the lower half of his face. "Whatcha want Mister.?"_

_He stepped closer to me, "Are you Brantley?"_

_A fan huh? I didn't have many, but the ones I did usually came back every now and then to see me. I've signed autographs before. It was great fun for me, eleven years old, and already famous. Well, back then I figured I was famous, because people who I didn't know, they knew me._

"_Yeah, that's me."_

_He smiled, "I've seen your act before, it must take a lot of practice to throw those knives so close to your father, and never hit him."_

_I shrugged, "Yeah, I guess."_

_He held up a small knife, "You see this?"_

_I nodded, "I got plenty of them."_

"_Look, I used to throw knives in a circus too, when I was your age."_

"_Oh, cool."_

"_I miss doing it, and it would really mean a lot to me, if you could use this knife tonight. Can you do that for me?"_

_I took the knife in my hands, spinning it around a little. "Sure. I guess so."_

"_Thanks kid." The man got down on one knee, and I saw his face. It was Clint, and his eyes were bright blue. He messed my hair up, "It means more than you know."_

_He walked away, and I walked into the ring to do my act._

There is no feeling worse, than a memory you've suppressed subconsciously coming back up. First thing you think is, it's got to be a dream. But then you know it wasn't, it really happened. Then there's the pain. Whatever that memory was buried under, when that memory comes back out, it comes back out with a vengeance. So the second after you remember, something tears inside your head. That memory _rips _through your mind, with freaking _claws_. And I don't mean cute little kitten claws, I'm talking nine inch nails claws.

So when something like that tears your mind in half, it's safe to say you freak out a little. That's what I did, I freaked out. All I remember is screaming, and pain, and I think I was moving. I'm not sure if people were moving me, or I was rolling around, but there was motion. Next thing I know, I'm just laying on my back, panting, holding my head, staring up at the ceiling. My throat feels raw, and I suddenly realize I was the one who had been screaming.

Hawkeye wasn't on top of me, he was standing a few feet away, probably just let me go so I could get all the thrashing out. Clyde is still standing next to Loki, knees shaking, tears streaming down his cheeks.

I can't run. I can't fight. I can't trick them. And I certainly can't do any of that while I'm dragging Clyde around.

"Ah, the pieces are now in place." Loki grinned, "You, my son, will rise with me to conquer Midguard, and your old team will bow before you as your personal guards. You will be Prince, and one day, King, of Midguard."

"I don't want to!" Clyde protested. He didn't move away from Loki, but he bit back with his words. It makes me want to cry, Clyde was always so willing, practically begging to be a hero, but Captain America couldn't find it in him to 'ruin' a child. He doesn't have to worry about that anymore, I have a feeling this experience just ruined Clyde.

"You cannot deny me, or your fate." Loki said sternly. "It is in your blood, and there is no fighting blood."

I manage to sit up slowly, my head still spinning, "Ha! Yeah, you'd like him to think that. Blood doesn't mean _anything_. You are whoever you damn want to be!"

Loki shook his head at me, his expression reading that he thought my outburst humorous. "Those are the words of an immature child. Pay her no mind my son."

"You want an example!?" I snapped, "She's standing right behind you. Natasha Romanova, born 1928 and was raised from her youth by a Russian soldier Ivan Petrovich Bezukhov after she was orphaned when enemy soldiers attacked Stalingrad. She accepted a place in the Soviet government's covert Red Room facility. She was used by the government as a criminal, but now? She's the greatest spy that has _ever _lived, on an elite team of the world's greatest heroes, The Avengers. Blood played no roll in that."

Loki glanced at Natasha, but turned back to me, "She had mere luck-"

"Captain America, also known as Steve Rogers, attempted to serve his country by joining the army. Steve was rejected, due to his skinny physique, and was classified 4-F. Today, he's a super soldier, also on the Avengers, and one of the most physically adapt humans on the planet. Blood was never a factor."

"Enough!" Loki spat, "I have had enough of your tongue, and I see no reason why I can't simple replace you with a more skilled soldier."

I smirked, "Because, you will never find another soldier my age with my skill, I'm the leader of Squad 87, which really needs a name change by the way, so Clyde, start brainstorming for one. Squad 87 is the most elite group of juvenile heroes on Earth. I know, because I've checked every other group of teenage heroes, and none of them come close to our combined skill level. And another thing,"

I reached for my bow, but I didn't have it. Oh yeah, I dropped it in my struggle with Hawkeye, and he had taken my arrows while I blacked out. Fine, I was better with knives anyway.

I took out six throwing knives, one in each hand, in-between my fingers.

"There's one difference between me and Clint." Clint stepped forward, fists tightening, ready to take me out if I attacked Loki or Natasha or even him. "He's an assassin, I'm a soldier." I let the knives fly, two at Natasha, two at Clint, one at Loki, and one embedded itself into the lock on Lester's cell door. "Now Lester, he's an assassin, and a damn deadly one at that. An assassin and a soldier are like the North and South end of a magnet, they attract each other, and stick together if they collide. That's why it was so easy for me to adapt to life as Hawkeye's sidekick. But, you put two North ends together, and they'll push against each other until one gives."

Lester kicked his cell door down, and Clyde broke away from Loki, running to me. I grabbed him, pulled him behind me. "Are you insane!?"

I smirked, "If I wasn't, I probably would be dead by now."

I took off my knife belt, throwing it towards Lester. He grabbed it, clipped it around his stomach instead of his waist, cause compared to me, his waist is huge. "Start running kiddies."

I took off down the hallway, dragging Clyde with me. "We have to get to the entrance, Lester will hold them off."

"You just put our lives in the hands of a psychopath!" Clyde screamed, "How do you know he's going to hold them back?"

"You remember when he pulled me against his cage?" I asked as we ran. "He gave me a message, a deal."

"How?"

"Morse code, he was tapping on my shoulder. Told me he'll take care of Loki, Hawkeye, and Black Widow while we get out of here." We came to the end of the hall, and got into the elevator, riding up slowly.

"What does he get out of it?" Clyde asked, beginning to calm down.

"I can't look for him. No matter how this goes down, I can't look for him once it's over." I sighed, fingering the only knife I had left. "And I have to make everyone think he's dead. Which he's probably going to be, considering he's got three people to deal with down there."

"… He tapped all that out in Morse Code?" Clyde asked, "He wasn't even holding you that long."

I shrugged, "Assassin hands are fast."

The elevator stopped, and we rushed out, climbing up the ladder as fast as we could. The minute we stepped out onto the sand, I pulled put my link, "S.H.I.E.L.D.! This is Agent Brantley Evans, located at the S.H.I.E.L.D. vault in the Sahara Desert, I'm gonna need a pick up."

Jackson's voice came over the link, "Brantley!? What happened, where's Loki? Is Clyde okay?"

"Clyde is fine, I'll debrief everyone once we get picked up." We kept moving, running away from the base, as far as we could, "How did the other teams fair?"

"Communications have all been set up again. I actually saw that Squintern, Wendell, punch my dad in the face!"

"What!?"

"The other Avengers tried to stop out teams, but they failed. Wendell punched my dad in the face and knocked him out. We have him in containment."

"Good." I snapped, "Now get us out of this desert and back to ht helicarrier, we've only got one more thing to do."

Clyde didn't say much as we waited for a pick up, I didn't blame him. I didn't want to talk either. And I really didn't want to think why Clint had been there that horrible night, or why I forgot about it.


	36. Thank You For The Venom

Turns out that girl, Fisher, was flying the jet. It was her first time flying, and she was very… enthusiastic!

"WHOO HOO!" She screamed, going even faster if that was possible. "I'VE NEVER FELT MORE ALIVE!"

"I've never felt more dead." I mumbled, trying not to throw up.

Clyde was looking extremely green, and he was curled around a paper bag, shaking violently. "I… want… to be on the ground."

"THIS MAKES FORGET ALL ABOUT DEPRESSION AND SUICIDE!"

"If I get my hands on you, it'll _look _like a suicide." I bit out, tying not to scream out in fear. This girl could go _fast_, but it was hell in the backseat, being jostled around, bumped and rattled. My stomach was killing me, and I was actually considering pulling Fisher into a sleeper hold, and just… _squeezing,_ until I felt better.

Finally, she landed on the helicarrier, and me and Clyde stumbled out, so glad to be out of that plane. I had to force myself to not collapse on the ground, hugging and kissing the floor, screaming how much I loved it.

Thain immediately ran up to us, "Brantley, are you okay?"

"We're both fine." I managed to mumble, though we were far from it. Clyde shakily stood, and I put a hand on his shoulder, trying to comfort him. He had just found out his father was Loki… that was a bit rough. "Hey, Clyde? Why don't you hit the showers, alright? I'll take care of-"

"I'm fine!" He snapped. "I can stand on my own two feet, _alright_?"

I pulled my hand away, raising an eyebrow, "Alright, I was just trying to offer you a breather-"

"No one else get's one, why should I?" He mumbled, walking ahead, "I'm going to see if anyone needs healing."

I sighed, calling after him, "Clyde, I didn't mean that you couldn't help, I just-"

"I get it Brantley." He said, looking over his shoulder at me, "You're trying to be my friend, but I don't want you to be my friend right now. I want you to be my leader."

He left, and Thain put an arm around me shoulders, "Moya lyubovʹ," _My love, _"Is everything okay?"

I took s deep breath, before wrapping my arms around him in a tight hug, "Thain I… I can't _do _this anymore. I can't be responsible for all these lives, I'm not strong enough. I might act tough Thain, but I'm _so _scared."

He hugged me tighter, "Uh- calm down. I promise, everything's going to be okay-"

"I'm not a child Thain!" I snapped. "You can't make me feel better by saying everything is going to be okay."

He laughed a little, "You don't understand, everything is going to be okay. The teams you dispatched? Their missions were a success. Communications is up and running again, we've got a plan full of field agents coming in as we speak. And Tyson used Bruce's equipment and was able to find a high concentration of tesseract energy in New York. Everyone is waiting for you to dispatch another team for an attack."

Jackson burst into the room, "Hey Long Shot, hate to break up you and your boyfriend's cuddle moment, but… I've got a problem."

I groaned, pulling away from Thain, "What now?"

"My armor is malfunctioning." He said, holding up a chunk of black and blue metal, "I can't get to Stark Towers to fix it."

"Take it down to the squint's, Jason should have enough engineering knowledge to help you out."

Jackson rolled his eyes, "Wow, seems like Jason can do whatever the plot calls for."

"What?"

"Nothing he's just surprisingly talented… in many things." Jackson mumbled, walking away.

Thain gently turned me back towards him, "Brantley, something Lester said… it worries me."

I bit my lip, not liking where this conversation was heading.

"Vhen you lived on ze streets, uh, did anybody… ya know… um, maybe-"

"I know what you're trying to say." I snapped, "And… yeah, guys tried. They got really close a few times, but I always managed to get away before they did. Most of it was luck, Tripp was around to bust a cap in their ass."

Thain laughed, "It's cute vhen you speak like you are from ze ghetto."

I laughed, hugging him, "Thanks for listening, I needed it."

He nodded, "You are my girlfriend, it's my job to listen to your problems."

I snorted, "Wow, love you too Thain."

He laughed, "Yeah, any ting else you would like to speak of?"

I spared a quick look around the carrier, "Just… come to the debriefing in five minutes. I'll explain everything."

**AFTER THE MEETING:**

Tyson stared at Clyde, "So… your dad is Loki?"

Clyde crossed his arms, glaring at the table. "Yes."

"The guy we have to top, and possibly kill?"

"Yes!" Clyde snapped.

Tyson didn't back off, "Clyde… if you wanna sit out of this one man, we'd understand. I mean, that's your dad-'

"No! He's my father, there's a big difference between being a father, and being a dad. I didn't see my father there when I wa kidnapped by terrorist. I didn't see him come to my rescue, Steve did. The only reason he's here now is because he needs me to help him take over Earth. So suddenly, I'm some all important son to him that he loves. I don't care about Loki, and I'll kill him myself when I get the chance."

Tyson looked to me, "Brantley, come on, this could be emotionally scaring for him later. I mean, he's angry now, and that's driving him, but what's gonna happen when he really comes to grips with the fact that he has to fight his dad?"

"Father!" Clyde snapped.

I bit down on my tongue gently, Tyson was right, this could be really damaging to Clyde later on. Maybe I should keep him out of it, just for the sake of his mental health. "Clyde-"

"No!" He cut me off, jumping up out of his chair. "You can't do this to me Brantley, I'm part of this team! I have to help you guys fight. God damn it, stop treating me like a kid!"

"Clyde!" I snapped, silencing him, "… All I was going to say was that you need to suit up if you're coming with us."

Clyde stared at me for a minute, and then grinned, "Go it."

He left to go suit up, as did the others, but Jade stayed. She walked next to me as I stood up from my chair, "Ah've gotta say Shugah, yer takin' the whole Clint being your uncle thing really well. Ah figured you'd be freakin' out, throwin' up, maybe even smashing things left and right, but you're holding yourself together pretty well."

"Are you kidding me!?" I snapped, grabbing my hair and yanking it repeatedly, "I'm ready to nuke Afghanistan just to relieve some stress! Don't be so naïve Jade, I might look calm, but in the past hour, I've thought of fifteen very detailed ways to kill Clinton Francis Barton!"

Jade paused, "Wait a minute, you said yer last name was Evans, why is yer dad's last name Barton?"

I sighed, "When my parent married, my mom kept her last name, Evans. They took turns giving their kids last names. Andy's last name is Barton, Will's is Evans, Jason's is Barton, mine is Evans."

She nodded, "Oh, got it. And, why do you wanna kill him? Ah mean, sure he kept the secret he was yer uncle, but he took care of ya."

I swallowed the lump in my throat as we entered into the locker rooms. My outfit was all torn up, so I swapped it for a spare. "Jade, when I got here Clint told me that if I wanted to be his protégé, then the first lesson I had to learn was to look at everything from a distance. When you're not in the mix, and your just observing, you make connections no one else does."

"Is there a point to this ramble?" She asked impatiently.

"Jade, you know me well enough by now, I don't talk often, so when I do I make up for it with a long ass explanation."

"Yeah Shugah, but fate of the world at stake, gotta stop Loki, speed it up and rant mah ear off about it later." She said, making a speed it up motion with her hand.

"Look, using that method he taught me, I made a connection with that memory. He showed up for the first time in my life, on the same night my father died." I said, holding up on finger, "Then he gives me a knife, and asks me to use it in my act. Here's the connection, that knife was the last one I through, and it… well, Jade I've never told you this, but I-"

"Ah know you killed your father."

My eyes widened, "W-what?"

She shrugged, "Ah overheard Clint talking about it, so skip the drama, tell me what's what."

I blinked a few times, "Okay, well, that knife was the one that I threw… wrong." I finished, holding up my second finger, "One and one make two, and it means something. I don't know what, but it's no coincidence."

She nodded, "Alright, Ah understand. And as your friend, Ah'm gonna tell ya this: grow up and get over it."

"… Eh?"

"Yer General Brantley not, not Agent Evans, so pack yer emotional baggage, and ship it off to Bangkok for the time being. We need a leader right now Brantley, not a friend." She said sternly. "Ah love ya, yer like mah sister, but this is tough love. Now get it in gear, and you and me cant cry over ice cream later."

"… This is why you're my friend." I said, grinning, "And as General Brantley, I'm gonna tell you this, your flying that jet, and afterwards, you're never letting Fisher near one again."

She laughed, "You got it Shugah. And after the fight, you and yer man can snuggle over battle scars."

**WITH CLYDE:**

I pulled my belt on, going through the pockets. I need something to distract me from the pain. Every time I take a wound away, it hurts. God, it just, it _hurts_. And depending on how bad the wound is, the pain could stay for minutes, or even hours. But with all the wounds I've healed, and the absolute gore I've shifted away from human anatomy today, I'm in excruciating pain from my head to my feet. I'll be feeling this level for _days_. If I don't kill myself first. Yeah, it hurts that much.

Smoke bombs, check. Tracers, check. Tazer, check. Emergency candy bar, close to expiration, but check.

"My son."

I whirled around, seeing Loki… my father, standing at the door. Oh boy. I swallowed the fear trying to creep it's way up my throat. I said I wanted to stop being treated like a kid, so I better stop acting like one. I plastered a glare onto my face, and tried to sound like Tama when she went into warrior mode. "What do you want!?"

He smiled stepping forward, "I want my son at my side."

"Not going to happen." I snapped, "I'm not your dog, you can't order me around."

He looked insulted, "My dog- you're my _son_! I love you."

"Yeah, loved me enough to make me a puzzle piece in your plot against the Avengers."

"I sent you to Earth with the main purpose being to keep you away from radicals who despised me. You assisting with my plans was merely a bonus."

"So you let me live with terrorists!? Do you have any idea what they did to me!? They stuck wire into my head! They sliced me open, then sliced themselves open and made me heal it! I was a human punching bag when they had a bad day! You didn't protect me, you condemned me to a life of horror, you bastard."

Before I could react, he reached out and struck me across the face. "You will not speak to me that way."

He grabbed my chin, making me look at him, "I did not intend for your life to be that way, but when it happened, I realized they could prepare you for pain and make you strong in ways I could not. You never showed any signs of your mother's, or my power. Your imperfections made you weak, and vulnerable. I wanted you to be strong, and now you are. Your little magic trick, taking away wounds and gaining the pain yourself, it's very entertaining, but has no real power. And even more, it's wasted on such pathetic creatures. Now, come with me, and I'll try and see if perhaps I might be able to find a way to trigger some abilities that may lie dormant inside of you."

I slapped his hand away, and shoved him backwards. Imperfection!? Weak!? Vulnerable!? This isn't what a dad says to his son, and I'm tired of being the weakest link in the chain. Brantley, Jade, Tyson, Tama, even Jackson, they've all been sheltering me, teaching me things along the way. They've been giving me examples, and it's about time I learned the lesson.

"Don't you _dare _call my gift a '_magic trick'_, I have saved countless lives with this, and I'm _proud _of it. I've taken people on the brink of death, and brought them back to perfect health, in seconds, and at my own expense. Don't call my imperfect either! It's being imperfect that makes me perfect, it's human. And in that way, I am human. I'm not a Frost Giant, I'm not a Norse God, I'm human, and that's how I'm going to _stay_."

I clenched my hands into fists, "And FYI, leaving me with terrorists didn't make me _strong_, it _broke _me. Nothing ever _fixed _me until the Avengers came along. So you, the man who condemned me to that life, coming here, and making the people that saved me and put me back together his personal whipping boys? And now you expect me to fall in line and treat my friends like animals? Let me make this absolutely clear. I don't love you. I hate you. And I'm going to let you leave now, to slither back to your pit and wait for me to come after you, because I will love seeing you wither in fear. But next time I see you, I'm going to take you out."

I stepped around him going for the door as he stood speechless, "Oh, one more thing-"

I whirled around, and punched him as hard as I could across the jaw, "That's for calling my friends and mentor _pathetic creatures_."

Thank you Jade and Brantley for showing me how to act like a bad to the bone mercenary.

* * *

**SAM! (at least you didn't use the guest title)**

**Alright, look, I know that it seems like my characters Mio, Justin, and Brantely are a lot alike, but there's some differances you may have missed. And instead of ranting like an emotionally insecure teenage girl, I'm just going to kick it like a lawyer, and show you the FACTS.**

**Mio act's like a little punk, and it shows in her attitude, however, Justin does not act like a punk, she is a punk. Not a big differance, but when you get down to it, Mio just acts like that to keep up a wall. She's hurting, and she's craving for fatherly affection, not from Logan, but from Daken. She'll probably never admit it, but she REALLY wants her father to be proud of her, and is often wondering what's so wrong with her that her own father doesn't care. She knows it's because well, he's Daken, but it's an irrations fear of hers. Another difference between her and Justin, in the Howlet/Creed family reunion arc I wrote, Mio showed an edge of sarcastic a immature humor edge that Justin doesn't have. What is Jusitn's version of humor? humiliating an opponent.**

**Now Justin? That's just who she is. Side affect of being raised by the league of assassins and Jason Todd. now let me make this CLEAR... Justin will not CHANGE, in ANY way, ANY time soon. Why? because I LOVE writing for her character. It's fun, and I will ride that trian until I get bored. now, if you're still reading Revenge of the Desperate, you'll know around chapter twelve Justin went through some major character development. Is that going to change the way she acts/is? No. What's really happened with Justin? Before she thought she just acted like a punk to have fun toying with people, but now she knows that's just who she is, and she's learning to accept the fact she's a total jerk and live with it, but not change. After being knocked down a few pegs by Jay, she'll probably lighten up A LITTLE, but here's her current mind set. "Now, I know that all I am underneath a totally awesome assassin killing machine bent on saving the innoscent, all I am is a big ball of crazy and outright ass." She's a jerk, but amazingly self aware.**

**Now, let me make another point clear. Justin WILL eventually change compeltely and become a discaplined, cool headed, generally reasonable person. She will still talk a little smack every now and then because, come on, it's JUSTIN. But over all her character will be much better. HOWEVER, not for a long time. Why? because I'm writing these fan fictions for FUN. That's why ANYBODY comes onto a fanfcition website, for FUN. we write all this for FUN. Yes it's also a good way to imporve on our writing, but the main point? FUN.**

**Now, as for Brantley. Yes, for awhile I made her act a lot like Jusitn, almost just like her. But that was NEVER intended to last. In this chapter, you SEE her break down, twice. And THAT is the end of Brantley's Justin streak. I had PLANNED for this the MINUTE I brought Loki into the mix. If you had just waited like, ONE more chapter you would have seen that and been all "Oh thank God! She's not a talentless writer! My faith is restored!"**

**Here is why a lot of my female OC's are alike, I am a FIRM believer in the idea, no, the FACT that girls can be jut as good, maybe even better than guys, given proper training and will power. It's an insecurity of mine that people take ONE look at me and write me off as inferior just becasue I wasns't born with one extra inch of meat on my body as a baby. That makes me EXTREMELY good at writing female heroes who are just plain AWESOME at their chosen skill. however, a flaw... I kind of... NEED to PROVE that, in EVERY story I have. It's a bad habit of mine, and I'm WORKING on it.**

**I'm not holding any hard feelings towards you over you... well, somewhat INSULTING reveiw last chapter. I'm GLAD I have fans and friends that want to help me out a bit when they think I might not be doing as good as I am able. At the same time, it was a BIT uncalled for. I mean... you've told me before that you've been reading me since I was on Quizilla, so you've been a fan longer than ANY of my other ones. You couldn't have just... I don't know, talked to me privately about it?**

**Make an account, PM me, instead of leaving that reveiw for EVERYONE to see? Seriousley?**

**Once again, happy to have a little tough love every now and then, but dude, if you've been a fan for THAT long, you should KNOW me well enough by now to realise "Hey wait, maybe she's NOT slipping, maybe there are tiny differenaces that add up here. Maybe I should just wait a little, and see where she takes this?"**

**And about them being PREACHY. EVERY SINGLE MARVEL/DC CHARACTER, in a battle revolving around anger, hatred, and deep loss, has given some highly emotion and impacting speeches in their time. And I like to think that some of my characters 'preachy rants' were entirely called for, creative, and emotionally charging to read.**

**To my other readers who actually finished reading this, I'm sorry to put this on my story and maybe confuse you people, but I had to explain this to Sam, because well... I really don't want to lose even ONE veiwer.**


	37. We're On The Frontlines

**It's not like I'm walking alone into the valley of the shadow of deathStand beside one another 'cause it ain't over yet**

**I'd be willing to bet that if we don't back downYou and I will be the ones that are holding the crown in the end**

**When it's over we can say, "Well done"But not yet 'cause it's only begunSo, pick up and follow me we're the only onesTo fight this thing until we've won**

**We drive on and don't look backIt doesn't mean we can't learn from our past**

**Everybody with your fists raised highLet me hear your battle cry tonightStand beside or step asideWe're on the front line**

**We live our lives on the front lines**

**We're not afraid of the past times**

**And now I see where the threat lies!**

"Is everyone clear on our plan?" I asked the small gaggle of field agents. There was my team, and four other field agents, and Thain who again convinced me to let him come alone. Three men, one woman, equipped head to toe in guns and knives, ready for all out war. "Do I need to go over it again?"

"Going over the beginning one more time would be nice." Clyde spoke up. "Not sure I understand all the science stuff Tyson just said."

I nodded, "Fine, basically what Tyson said is that Jackson hacked into Stark Tower's cameras to see what's going on. Tony's hooking up Loki's staff to every satellite on Earth. Once the energy his staff emits goes viral, anyone within ten feet of a laptop, computer, TV, cell phone tower, or smart phone is going to immediately be under his control. We're not just talking a few hundred here, we're talking pretty much every human being on Earth."

I directed the very last of my speech at my personal team, "This is where we show everyone why we were recruited into S.H.I.E.L.D., and why we're here. Loki started this, and now we're going to finish it. S.H.I.E.L.D. is not going to die today, it can't. Cause I just got here, and I'm not about to let some robe wearing, emo haired prince with daddy issues ruin it for me!"

Clyde nodded, "Let's kick his ass!"

Tama held up her axe, "I will chop this machine in half!"

Jade held up a gun, "Let's go people, we all know the plan."

Thain grabbed me before I could move to drop the ramp, his arm around my waist. "Hey."

I stared up at him as he smiled down at me, "Ve're going to vin. Ve can't lose, not today, zis battle, it's to important."

He pressed his lips to mine gently, trying to ease my nerves. I pulled away, and tightened my grip on my bow.

The floor of the plane opened up, Jackson and Tama started to take off. I grabbed onto Jackson's leg, and Clyde grabbed onto Tama's, I was worried Clyde wouldn't have the strength to keep a grip, but he seemed to hold on easily. Jackson and Tama slowly landed outside of Stark Towers, on the balcony. Through the glass, I could see Tony, Loki, Hawkeye, and Thor all standing around a machine, and Pepper is off to the side, her eyes as blue as theirs.

I didn't see Black Widow, Captain America, or Hulk, and that scares me more than anything. As we land, we fall into a lopsided triangle. We often went into dangerous situations like this, it was a battle formation, and it helped to keep everyone in position. But I was always in the front before, this time, Clyde just falls into the front, his fists balled up in rage, and I swear, his big blue eyes looked like they had the flames of Hell in them.

You know what? The kid needs this. I fell into stance to his right, about half a step behind him. Jackson does the same on his left, and Tama is hovering right behind all over of, axe at the ready.

Loki looked up with a curious glance as we entered. A small smirked creeped onto his face, "Well, I doubt that you are here to beg for mercy, so let me hear your empty threats."

Clyde's fists started to sake as rage built up inside of him, and I saw this as the chance to get Loki's guard down. "We don't make threats, we make promises."

Tama nodded, "We are defined by our honor and our word."

Jackson clicked his helmet shut, "We aren't going to let you take over Earth Loki."

Loki sneered, "Oh, and I suppose, that because you are all… the Young Avengers? Going to avenge earth should you not be able to save it?"

Clyde finally snapped, I could see that his anger had finally reach far beyond the boiling point. But instead of exploding, Clyde seemed to… get calm. But he wasn't calm, under the surface Clyde was more dangerous than a nuke. But… no, this was Clyde, he wasn't dangerous… at least he didn't used to be.

He spoke slowly, and in a way it reminded me of Loki, but underneath his calculated tone, I could sense the care and passion Loki didn't have. "We, are not the Avengers, young or old. We chose a different name. We are-"

A million possibilities raced through my mind. Arch Angles? Soul-Saviors? Personally I kind of liked Loki's name, Young Avengers. Had a ring to it.

"The Finishers."

Two seconds of silence drifted by, where all I could think was _That is one God-awful name._

Jackson cleared his throat, "Uh, maybe we should go with a name like-"

My foot shot out, slamming into the side of his knee. It didn't get past the armor, but I knew it much have hurt.

"Ow! What!?" Jackson snapped.

"We're The Finishers." I said with finality.

Loki chuckled, shaking his head slowly, amused at us. His eyes met me and Clyde's, "You two, both still have a spot in my army. Brantley, you are a gifted soldier, and it would be a pity to have to kill such a talented human. You, unlike your team, have risen above the stereotypical human, much like your father. And you, Clyde, you are my son. Despite your disappointing lack of power, we are blood. Join me, and perhaps I will spare your friends."

Clyde shook his head, "You are not my father, due to the horrific acts you've committed on Earth and on Asguard, I have disowned you."

I nodded, "And you have no right to talk about my father. He was a good man, and you should pray and hope beyond hope every day that you become half of what he was."

Loki raised an eyebrow at me, ignoring his son. "Was? I believe you assumed his death hastily."

Was he implying that… my father? Alive? Maybe? Yes, yes please say he's alive! Please say I didn't kill my father. Say it… say it! SAY IT! "You… what?"

Clyde's voice broke through the fog in my mind, "Brantley, ignore him. He's just trying to get into your head. I don't know what happened with your dad, and I don't care. Because right now all you need to think about is Loki, and stopping him."

Loki just laughed.

"Right, got it." I mumbled, then tapped the side of my com. link. "Fire in the hole!"

The floor right beneath the satellite exploded. It fell through the floor. Tony and Bruce starred down after it, but I knew what they saw. It wasn't just that floor that had an explosion. The floor beneath us did too. And the one beneath that, over and over until it was in had fallen into the main lobby.

Jackson chuckled, then pulled out his big guns, "Come one dad, let's go a few rounds!"

Tony barked out a laugh, "Sorry kid, you can't take your old man yet."

Pepper's eyes flashed normal for a moment, "Jackson? Why-?"

But then they went right back to the unholy blue color.

Jackson sighed, "Sorry mom."

He shot out a blue bolt beneath her feet, and that bolt's energy leapt up, surrounding Pepper in a barrier made of pure electricity. Every time she tried to push it away it shocked her. He had put his mom out of the fight, like we planned.

Tama tightened her grip on her axe, "For Asguard!"

She leapt at her father, their weapons clashing together in the loudest way possible. Hammer meeting axe.

Clyde and me stood back to back, Loki and Hawkeye on either side of us. Clint cracked a grin, "You really gonna shoot me? Aw, come on. We both know how you value family."

I grit my teeth, "Yeah, sorry _Uncle Clint_."

I let my arrow fly, and he stepped to the side to avoid it. He took out his bow, loading it, and fired.

It came to fast, burying itself into my shoulder.

I took a step back, gasped, and then loaded another arrow. To late.

Another arrow hit my in the leg, then another in my collarbone.

How is he so fast!?

I used to be that fast… but never with my arrows.

I was that fast with my knives.

Okay, decision time.

Tama and Thor flew through the wall, nearly taking my head off as they continued their battle outside. Good. They were making a mess in here.

I held up a hand to Hawkeye, and he stopped, "Tired already Brant?"

I snarled, "Don't call me that!"

He snickered, "Why? Don't like your old man?"

"My old man was a saint!"

"The man you think your father was, he doesn't exist." Clint snapped back. "Also, Barney? Not your dad."

I froze, dropping my quiver and bow. "What?"

"Barney isn't your dad, that was a cover up done by S.H.I.E.L.D." He said.

S.H.I.E.L.D.? S.H.I.E.L.D. staged a cover up? The same S.H.I.E.L.D. that I put my life on the line for!? I trusted SHIELD… I trusted Nick, and Maria, and the squints. I trusted-

I trusted Clint. I trusted Clint above all of them.

Time to die bastard!

I took out my knives, and I started throwing. Clint fired his arrows, but ya know what the great thing was? He couldn't fire arrows as fast as I could throw knives. So every arrow he shot fell to the ground, sliced in half.

Tony got in a lucky shot with a repulser blast, and sent Jackson threw a wall.

Thor threw Tama to the ground, cracking the street in half.

Clint dodged one of my knives, and body tackled me. He got on top of me, hitting me over and over again.

"Get off of her!"

We both turned to look at Thain standing there, holding a gun and pointing it at Clint. He was supposed to be downstairs helping to disable the satellite!

Thain's hands shook as he held the gun.

Clint smirked, "You can't make me, you can't even hold that gun right."

Thain bit his lower lip.

I managed to mumbled out, "Thain just… get back downstairs-"

Clint raised his hand to punch me again, but something amazing happened. Thain fired the gun.

BAM!

Clint immediately rolled to the side, barely avoiding the poorly aimed bullet, and his bow was locked and loaded before I could stop him. Even if I had been faster, I don't think I could have stopped that arrow.

I had puncture wounds from arrows in my shoulder, collar, and my leg. One side of my body couldn't move without intense pain. And Clint had jacked up my face.

Doesn't stop me from replaying that moment in my head every now and then. Wish I could have stopped it. Wish I had just been able to put the pain to the back of my head. But in those stories where they say adrenaline makes the pain just vanish? Full of shit.

The arrow pierced through the air, and snapped into Thain's chest.

I had been a marksman since I was eight, so I knew what it had hit. Right above the heart muscle, severing the veins going into the cardiac muscle.

Remember what I said about how the pain is always with you? Well that's true enough, but you don't always remember it.

Next thing I know, I'm kneeling next to Thain as he bleeds out. I pulled out the arrow and pushed my hands down on his wound. "Thain, you'll be okay, you hear me!?"

He won't be okay. Nothing's getting into his heart, and nothing is getting into his veins. He's only got about five heart beats left.

Thain smiled up at me, his white teeth shining past bloodied lips.

_Thump_

He reached up delicately with one hand, brushing my hair away from my forehead to look into my eyes.

_Thump_

"У тебя красивые глаза." _You have beautiful eyes my love._

I felt a sob slip past my lips.

_Thump_

"Thain… you know I can't speak Russian."

He just grinned, and pulled me down closer.

_Thump_

"Я люблю тебя." _I love you_. His lips brushed mine, briefly, for one last time.

_Thump_

"Thain…" I whispered.

Nothing.

Not a beat.

Silence.

Clint laughed, "Kid set up a damn good Hallmark moment, I'll give him that. Never liked the little bastard though. Lily livered, couldn't fight, not a good guy for you at all."

My teeth were clenched so hard, I feared they'd crack.

"But, I guess me hating any boyfriend you ever had or will have is kind of inevitable." He walked up, kneeling next to me. "Come on, enough of this fighting."

He put a hand on my shoulder, squeezing it as if trying to comfort me. "Let's just end it. Join us, and we'll-"

I was cut off by his scream as an arrow shot through his center. Barely missing internal organs and blood vessels, but it hurt like hell. He wouldn't be moving for awhile.

I stood straight as he fell to the ground, trying to pull the arrow out himself. I looked back at Thain, laying there, blood everywhere, dead.

I turned to look as Jade busted into the room, looking a bit worse for the wear, but determined. "Brantley, where's Loki?"

Thor suddenly crashed through the ceiling, face planting on the ground, and Tama flew down from the gaping hole, taking the flat side of her axe, and hitting him over the head with it as hard as she could.

He stumbled to his feet, looking around in a daze. "What… Where… Tama?"

Tama grinned ear to ear as his eyes turned back to their normal color. "Father!"

He embraced her quickly, then turned to me and Jade, "Where is-"

He cut himself off as he saw Thain's body slumped against the wall, "The boy has fallen?"

I stiffened, refusing to look behind me. I can't focus on Thain, the world is about to get enslaved.

I spoke up before anyone could ask about Thain. "Where's Loki?"

Thor met my gaze, head already back into the game, "Now that the satellite had been destroyed, he will attack for revenge."

"Where?"

"To whoever he feels did him wrong." He explained.

I turned to Tama, "You know where Clyde is?"

She nodded.

"Great." I took up Clint's bow and arrows as he glared at me.

"Don't hurt my king!" He snarled.

"You'll thank me later." I said dryly. "Tama, take me where I can get a clear shot."

Tama dropped her axe, and wrapped her hands around me, shooting up into the sky and I gripped my oversized bow until my knuckles turned white.

Tama steadied herself, and pointed a few rooftops away. There was Clyde, trying to wrestle the staff away from Loki.

Loki shoved his son to the ground, and even from where we were I could hear Loki shout, "Enough! I have had far to much patience with you, yet you are nothing but a mistake!"

Clyde glared up at him, "I feel bad for you, you'll never knew how great I am."

Tama whispered, "Brantley, take the shot."

I loaded the bow, taking aim. Perfect line of fire. But I_ can't shoot…_

_Dad grinned at me as I held the last knife on my hand, ready to throw it. I never knew it would be the last time I saw him smile._

"Brantley!" Tama hissed.

Loki raised his staff, either to enslave Clyde to stab him. I couldn't let either one happen. But I _can't shoot…_

_When Dad found out I could throw knives, he had taken it a lot better than Mom. As she yelled at Grandpa, Dad took me outside._

_He kneeled down next to me, "Brantley, I want you to understand something."_

_I was prepared for him to be angry at me for learning to throw knives. "Yes?"_

_He put his hands on my shoulders, "When your grandpa taught me to throw knives, he gave me one rule."_

"_Draw me not without reason, sheath me not without honor?" I asked._

_He nodded, "But I made a different rule for myself. My rule is, that I will never use a knife, or any weapon, unless it's to protect my family."_

"_Is that why you don't throw knives anymore?" I asked._

_He nodded, and grinned, "That, and a ringmaster shouldn't be in the show. But that's not the point. The point is, you should make your own rule. Follow your Grandfather's for awhile, but eventually, you need to become your own person, with your own rule, got it?"_

_I nodded, "Okay Daddy."_

_He hugged me, "That's my little girl."_

I can't believe I still haven't made that rule.

Now is as good a time as any.

"Any damn time I want to!" I shouted, and let the arrow fly.

It sailed through the air, and shot right through Loki's forearm. Loki dropped to the ground, screaming, holding his arm.

Clyde jumped up, took the fallen scepter, and held it like a baseball bat.

Tama dropped me onto the roof, and I ran to Clyde's side, bow at the ready. "Brantley?"

"Yeah Clyde?"

He looked at me, then the scepter, then to Loki. "Hold this."

I took the scepter, idly wondering how to get everyone un-hypnotized. Maybe smash it?

Clyde walked towards his father, hand outstretched. "Father?"

Loki stared up at his son, not understanding where this sudden kindness had come from. "You have shunned me. Why show me sympathy."

Clyde shook his head, "It's not sympathy. It's retribution."

Loki stuck out his one good hand, and gripped Clyde's tightly. Clyde shot forward, still gripping Loki's hand in his right, but placed his left hand on Loki's forehead, "My redemption!"

Loki's skin suddenly cracked, bloody lacerations and bruises suddenly dotted it. I heard sickening snaps as every single bone in his body broke. Clyde didn't let go, not until Loki's skin started peeling away and he fell to the ground, a mess of shattered bone, ripped muscle and dying screams.

I cast a look at Tama, to see her faint, hitting the ground hard. Huh, guess the demigod was officially out of it.

I looked up at Clyde as he stepped away from the bloody carcass. "Clyde… what did you do?"

He met my gaze, "I… I gave him every injury I ever to away from anybody."

I put a hand on his shoulder, "Your father was wrong, that's the coolest gift any of us have. You take away, and you give."

Clyde smiled, small and sad. "I just, I didn't even know I could do that."

"You followed an instinct." I said, shrugging, "And good thing too, I was gonna kill him anyways."

Clyde suddenly shook, "I just… killed a man. I killed a man Brantley."

I nodded, ready for him to break into water works. "How do you feel?"

He looked down at hi hands, then up at me. "I don't feel anything."

I'll get him therapy later.

I thrust the scepter into his hands, "Do you know how to set them all free?"

Clyde nodded slowly, "Yeah, I think so. I was born to carry it, right?"

Clyde raised the scepter above his head, and it started to glow, brighter than it ever had. Tiny streams of the blue light branched out, weaving themselves through the air, splitting, combining, waving, and slithering all at once. It was beautiful.

Just as suddenly as it had started, the light show ended, and the scepter slipped form Clyde's hands as he hit the ground, exhausted.

I put my hand on my ear piece, kneeling next to Clyde and squeezing his shoulder. "Jade, can you give me an estimate of the dead?"

"Including Thain, three."

I nodded. "I'll report to Jason."

I switched channels, and mumbled, "Jason, we're finished here. We've won."

"I hear ya Brant, Cam is doing much better, and Nick Fury just came out of his coma. He'll handle things with The Council for now, but they're gonna wanna question you later. For now, I say get back to base, and get your team a good nap before you kids pass out all over the street."

I see Iron Man, now out of his trance, and Jackson, freeing Pepper from her energy prison. Thor and Captain America are tending to Clint, as he jerks in pain around his arrow wound.

Clyde crawls over to Tama, gently shaking her to try and wake her up.

No one sees me do it, but I look over a few buildings, so see a grinning face. Insanity had infected every inch of it's smile. He wordlessly holds up two fingers, and I understand perfectly.

I owe him two favors.


	38. We Barely Had Time To Bury Our Dead

Sleeping for all those kids was a joke. They had all stayed at SHIELD that night, even Jackson and Tama. They all gave sleeping a valiant effort, but their experiences varied greatly.

Jackson tossed and turned all night, any sleep he managed to get was filled with nightmares of the robot in the underground prison, stalking him, shouting at him.

Tama crawled under her bed, clutching onto her axe with a death grip, mumbling prayers in Norse.

Jade stopped trying to sleep around three in the morning, and just started wandering through the halls.

Clyde tried sleeping, but the adrenaline was still fresh, so he ended up wailing on a punching bag. For the first time, since the first cut he healed, he felt no pain. He had shoved it all into Loki. Finally, he had energy, and he had backbone.

Tyson gave up sleeping at about four, and headed to Bruce's lab. He tinkered in there, with pretty much nothing. Until he heard the door open, and Jade walk in. "Ya couldn't sleep either shugah?"

Tyson blushed a little at the nickname, Fumbling with the little toy in his hands. "Err, no. I just keep… seeing that satellite. I mean, I dismantled it with time to spare in real life, but I keep having these nightmares about not getting there in time. About everyone getting enslaved and-"

Jade put a finger to his lips, "Shh."

Tyson felt his face heating up dramatically.

Jade smiled, "Ah walked in and saw Thain dead, and Ah know it's 'ittin' Brantley more then she lets on. Ah can't shake the thought… what would Ah 'ave done if you got killed. Killed before Ah could say that… Ah like ya. A lot."

She pulled her finger away, blushing herself, "And Ah've tried to hide it, Ah didn't wanna date in the team. Figured if somethin' went sour between us, it could tear us apart, but-"

Tyson suddenly lurched forward, lips pressing against Jade's. His hand slowly cupped the back of her head, trying to keep her close.

Jade's eyes slipped shut, kissing him back.

They both slowly pulled away for air, with Tyson grinning like a fool. "I've wanted to do that for months."

This time, Jade started the kiss. And oh did they kiss. Not just twice, but several more times. Month's worth of attraction finally let loose until both their lips was bright red from use.

Jade panted, "Brantley… she never knew what Thain was saying."

And she took off, leaving a very happy Tyson.

Brantley had never even bothered trying to sleep. The minute she showered and changed, she headed to the lab, where Cam was still sleeping. Jason smiled up at her, "Well, look at our little war hero."

Brantley groaned, sitting down and resting her head on the edge of Cam's mattress. "Don't call me that."

"Why not Brant? You did it, you lead us into war, and we survived. I've gotta say, blowing the floor up beneath the satellite was quite the idea. Now that I think about it, we probably should have done that the first time Loki attacked."

Brantley shrugged, "It was a technique I learned on the streets. You wanna break into a museum, you get into the basement first, then blow up the flooring."

"Sounds risky."

"You have no _idea_." Brantley groaned. "How's Cam doing?"

Cam's eyelids fluttered open, "Better. It doesn't hurt to move anymore."

Cam leaned closer to Brantley, running a hand through her ragged hair. "You look like Hell."

Brantley laughed, "Yeah, that makes me feel a lot better."

Jason raised an eyebrow, "Shouldn't you be trying to sleep?"

"I don't wanna risk nightmares, so I chugged down three cokes, and finished it off with some pop rocks." Brantley finished her sentence with a light burp. "Excuse me."

Jason laughed, "Kid, you're something else."

Cam raised an eyebrow in concern, "Have you thought about what you're going to tell the Council?"

"We fought, we won, leave me alone cause I did me goddamn job." Brantley mumbled. "I don't feel like taking any of their shit in the morning."

Jason paused, "Before you go in, you should know something."

Brantley gave him a pointed look, one eyebrow raised.

"Uh, I found something odd after examining the scene of the battle, and a few injuries." Jason pushed his rolling chair over to his desk, picking up an arrow, "You said after Clint killed Thain, that you stabbed Clint with this arrow?"

Brantley nodded, "Yes."

Jason looked concerned. "This arrow isn't identical to yours. Your's are black with an iron base, the 'feathers' on the end of your arrows are fiberglass. I know because I designed them. This arrow isn't painted, with a steel base, and it's 'feathers' are rubber."

Brantley tried not to look fazed, but Jason could see through it, because he had the facts. "Must have been Clint's arrow I picked up."

Jason shook his head, "Clint's arrows are identical to yours."

Brantley was silent.

Someone else spoke for her. "It's simple, I was with Loki for awhile, I had a shortage of arrows and had to pick up some cheap ones."

The three of them turned to see Clint standing there, more guilt in his eyes than Brantley could read into.

Clint shrugged, "They'll buy it."

Jason looked back and forth from me to Clint several times. "Uh, you guys need to talk about something?"

Brantley stood up quickly, walking past Clint, "No."

Clint sighed once Brantley was gone, sinking down into a vacant chair. Jason raised an eyebrow, "Dude, what did you do to the kid? Tell her to get a haircut?"

"I'm her father. And she found out in the worst way ever." Clint groaned, covering his face with his hands.

Jason and Cam shared looks, "Oh, really?"

Clint looked up at them both, "… You knew?"

Cam shrugged, "I noticed you and her have similar bone structure. Her jaw line isn't as pronounced as yours, but the basic shape is there. The ratios of the bridge of your nose and your nostrils is the same, at 4:5."

Clint stared at her a minute, "So…"

Jason rolled his eyes, "She looks like you dummy."

Clint leaned back in his chair, "Oh."

Cam nodded, "Gave Brantley some time, if there's one thing she's good at, it's adapting."

Clint sighed, "I never thought I could be this proud of her. She was General of S.H.I.E.L.D. for over twenty-four hours. She lead kids into war against the Avengers… and she freakin' won. Damn…"

Jason smirked, "Hey, she's your kid. I've got a question though."

"I most likely won't answer it."

"Why didn't you raise her?"

Clint rubbed his forehead, "That's a long story."

"Give me the summary." Jason suggested.

"Okay. Stupid soldier falls in love with a beautiful girl he used to be best friends with. Problem is, she's already with the stupid soldier's brother, and-"

"Whoa!" Jason interrupted, "You did your brothers girlfriend!?"

Clint stared at the ground, "Wife."

Jason stared at Clint, "You… are a home wrecker."

Clint just glared at him.

Jade found Brantley out on deck, staring up at the night sky. She never took Brantley as the star gazer type. She approached her silently, whispering, "Hey."

Brantley's gaze dropped down to the ocean below, "Jade, if you're here to consol me about Thain, say that I did all I-"

"Ah'm not here ta tell you anythin' like that." Jade said quietly, putting a hand on her shoulder, "Ah just want ya to know, all those times Thain talked in Russian-"

Brantley held up a hand, silencing her, "Я говорю чистейшем русском языке." _I speak perfect Russian._

Jade's eyes widened, "Wait… since when!?"

"Clint heard Thain talking to me in Russian one day, back when I couldn't understand, and then spent three days teaching me nothing but Russian. I picked it up quickly, it's a simple language."

"So you've known what he's been saying-"

"For two months now." Brantley chuckled, "I just figured when he was ready to tell me without thinking I couldn't understand, then it would be better for him, instead of suddenly figuring out that I could speak Russian."

Jade paused, "Do you still-"

"No, I wish, that at least at that last moment… I could have had the courage to tell him I understood him."


	39. Over-Worked And Under-Paid

The council stared Jade down, "So, Gun Point, we've all reviewed your reports, and your records, and congratulations, You were the only person on your team that did what was expected of them."

At first Jade was glad, but then she just realized that meant her friends were on the chopping block.

The council glared at Jackson, "Mr. Stark, you seem to not be able to leave well enough alone."

"What?"

"The failed robot in the underground prison was none of your concern. You were instructed to keep moving, and not make eye contact. So we ask you, are you able to leave well enough alone?"

Jackson met their gaze, "I don't so anything halfway. I don't just find out what you want me to, then stop learning, and if you're going to fire me for that, just get it over with. Cause I don't have time to argue with people three times my age, with half my IQ."

They spoke with Tyson next. "We understand that dismantling the satellite was Thain's job."

"He got sweaty, nervous for Brantley when he heard her shouting, and ran off. I took over."

They exchanged looks. "And you succeeded?"

"Obviously." Tyson said, rolling his eyes.

"Very well, you are dismissed."

Tama hardly broke a sweat, until the end of the interview. "So, you fainted at the sight of Clyde's… dramatic finish?"

Tama met their eyes, unafraid. "It was the most horrific thing I have ever experienced. But strangely, the most ridiculous thing I have ever encountered is elderly soldiers who can no longer carry a weapon, criticizing me for becoming horrified."

Clyde got the worst of it.

"And how do you expect us to trust you will stay loyal and not run off to finish your father's duty?"

Clyde scoffed, "Uh, because I killed him!? And you don't have to worry about me trying to pick up his trail. I don't wanna get shot by Brantley."

Ah yes, Brantley.

"So, you were finally able to take a long range shot?"

Brantley paused, "Yeah, I guess I was."

Bullseye might have been the one to shoot Clint, but she had gotten Loki. And damn did it feel good.

"What do you think made you overcome your inability?"

And of course she lied. Her life was none of their business. "Guess I just needed the pressure."

"Well, you are formally relieved of your title of general, now that General Fury and Agent hill are both suited for active duty."

Brantley nodded, "That's a relief-"

"And you regain an old one, Special Ops."

Brantley stared up at them, "But, I'm in Investigations-"

"The only reason we ever wasted your talent in there was because your therapist informed us you were physically incapable of taking a kill shot. Agent Hill will provide you with your new badge and files to get you started with your new team. Squad 87 has been disband."

Brantley shot up from her chair, "This is uncalled for! My squad fought, and won that war, so-"

"And you are no longer a squad. You and your teammates have been a greater privilege."

"Enlighten me, oh wrinkled one." Brantley sassed.

"Enough!" One of the men snapped. "You and those other children now have your own sector. Pick whichever name you wish, we are merely giving you this opportunity to distinguish your odd team from the others. Chose what purpose you want this sector of your to end. We'd like to get the whole thing taken of by tomorrow."

Brantley licked her lips, "Call us The Finishers, and we'll do anything and everything we're needed to do."

They all agreed.

**THREE DAYS LATER:**

Three days passed in a blur, between burying their dead, condolence letters, and rebuilding their head quarters. They built over the ruble, and instead of taking an entire wing, they kept their new sector as the recreation room they had been assigned the first day they came in.

Brantley had to get down on her knees for Agent Hill to give her two days off.

And she spent them immediately, going right to her Grandfather.

**AT THE CIRCUS:**

Rain poured down my hair and into my eyes as my grandfather opened the door to his trailer, "Brantley!?"

He pulled her inside, wrapped her in a blanket, and set coffee in front of her, as she looked around. Nothing had changed since her childhood. The blanket she had wrapped him in had been made by her mother. The coffee mug had been a birthday present she and her brothers had given their dad one year. Ghosts of memories were floating around everywhere.

"Now, what's wrong?" Her Grandfather finally asked.

She looked up at him, coffee mug clutched tightly in her callused and scarred hands, "Grandpa? You're the only one left I can trust… please tell me the truth."

He paused, "What truth?"

She sniffed pitifully, "Who- who is my real dad? Is it Barney… or is it Clint?"

She couldn't get out another word before she broke into sobs. Her grandfather held her close, mumbling words of comfort to her. Trying to assure her that no matter who her blood father was, it was who raised her that mattered.

Two days were enough to get her head on straight. Enough for her to realize she had missed Thain's funeral, but discover she never wanted to go. She wasn't ready to say goodbye and let go of him just yet. Was she so terrible for that?

But she had to go back eventually, and it was only a matter of time before she ran into Clint.

"Uh, Brantley-"

She stopped him, "Do you wanna get pie?"

"... What?"

"Pie. There's a pretty good diner I know." She explained, gaze shifting to the floor.

So they got off duty, went down to New York, and got a booth at the diner, both ordering peach pie.

They ate in silence, until only the crusts were left. She finally looked up at him, "Clint, I'm giving you one chance, just one chance, to tell me the truth, everything. Now would be a good time."

He sighed, "I've wanted to tell you for so long-"

"So tell me now."

"Barney and I were brothers. Our Dad used to get drunk all the time, smack us around a little. Mom didn't care. One day, Mom and Dad are yelling at each other while Dad drives the car home from the strip club mom worked at. Dad was drunk off his ass again, so they naturally wrecked. Front of the car totaled, me and Barney took a couple scars, but we lived. We both got taken into the foster care system, and it sucked for both of us."

I knew what that felt like. Foster system? The system was broken.

"So Barney convinces me to run with him, and we actually get out." Clint says, pushing the crumbs around on his plate. "We stumble across this circus, and we both think it's pretty nice. So we get jobs there lugging boxes. We were working one day, and I saw the most beautiful girl. She was the ringmasters daughter, and out of my league, but I still liked her, we became friends eventually."

My mom was the ringmaster's daughter.

"There were these two performers, Swordsman and Trickshot. They liked me okay, so Trickshot taught me to use a bow and arrow, Swordsman taught me some knife stunts."

Swordsman was my grandfather's performing name, his real name was Jacques DuQuesne.

"I caught Swordsman stealing money form the circus." Grandpa did what now? "I tried to report him to the cops, but he tracked me down and kick the shit outta me. And then he just left me there…"

I'm… going to ignore that part.

"So I bolt, come back a few years later, after I'm working for S.H.I.E.L.D. to find that Barney had worked his way up the chain, married the ringmaster's daughter, and he was gonna take over for the guy in a few years. I try and congratulate him, and he punches me in the face. Never really forgave me for bolting on him."

I kinda wanted to punch him right now. Just a little.

"But he left, and I talked to Cindy a little. She had already had like, three kids with him." Okay, now we get to the important part. "One thing led to another and… look, sometimes we just do stupid thing? Okay?"

I nodded, I knew that well enough, "What happened afterwards?"

"Few months later, she calls and says that she's pregnant. She's confident it's my kid. I ask her what she want's to do, and she says she just wants Barney to think it's his. I felt guilty for ever doing it with her, I mean, it was my brothers wife. So I agree, and I promise to leave them alone."

"But, you came back." I mumbled.

His eyes shifted a little, "You know Loki came twelve years ago? A few years ago, I had an episode, Loki took control from his prison on Asguard. He knew I had a kid from my memories, and he had me go to the circus, and watch while you… I saw you kill-"

"Stop." I mumbled, and for the first time since it happened, I willingly remembered killing my father. But instead of remembering the guilt or the pain, I tried to remember the knife. It was regular metal… but my throwing knives were painting gold.

As the last two dots finally connected, I gave a short laugh, "I never remembered… never remembered that knife."

He was silent.

"I mean, all my knives were gold, I should have noticed something odd. But you asked me to use your old knife, and I didn't bother to check to make sure it wasn't off balanced." I covered my eyes with one hand, "Loki set me up… to kill my own father. He knew what would happen to me afterwards."

"We don't know what Loki was thinking-"

"He knew!" I yelled, slamming a fist down on the table. "He had planned it for years, he needed me and Clyde together on a team, and he new that I would end up on it if I killed my dad."

Sobs leaked out of my throat, but I wiped tears away before they could be seen. "He played me… the whole time."

"He played everyone." Clint said, reaching across the table to hold my hand, "Brantley, he's dead. Clyde killed him-"

"I could have killed him." I sobbed, "I let Clyde do it because, because I thought out of all of us, he deserved it the most. But if I had to do it over again, I would have shot the bastards head off…"

Clint squeezed my hand, "Listen! He doesn't control you anymore, either of us. I know what your going through, being manipulated like that, it leaves a lot of pain, but you can get through it. I'm living proof-"

"Maybe I don't want to get through it." I managed through the tears, "Maybe I just want it to be over. I'm… mother of God, I'm just so tired of fighting!"

"You don't mean that-"

"I do! I've been fighting since I was eleven Clint. I want out! I just want out!" I managed to mumble before breaking off into more crying.

"Hey!" He whispered urgently, "Don't start making those decisions right now. Wait awhile, let all this settle down, and then if you still want out, then… we'll talk about it I guess."

I pushed past tears and sobs, "Why didn't you, t-tell me when you found me?"

Clint swallowed, "I was ashamed."

Of course. He's ashamed, Loki was ashamed, I'm ashamed, everyone is ashamed of me.

"I just couldn't believe that I was such a bad parent. I never should have just left you guys, and I should have been stronger so Loki wouldn't have controlled me in the first place."

He… was ashamed of himself?

"But then I saw how hardened you had become, how tough you were, your skills. I had been looking for you ever since that night, and then you rob me and tie me up." He laughed a little, and I couldn't help but find it a little funny to. "After all that you had gone through, I didn't want to risk messing up S.H.I.E.L.D. for you, because I though if you knew who I was, you wouldn't want to stay there. I didn't want to hurt you, because I could just look in your eyes, and see how much you were already hurting. Brantley, I'm so sorry for not being there. And I want to be there for you now."

I sniffed, pushing tears away, "You've been there for me since you brought me into S.H.I.E.L.D. Clint. Thank you. Thank you so much."

That was the first time me and Clint hugged. It was the first time I felt like I had a father, in a long time.

* * *

**Right guys, this story is pretty much almost over. Maybe one more chapter to wrap everything up, then moving on to the sequal! I don't have a name for it yet, so if no one has a suggestion, I'll probably end up just naming it The Finishers or something.**

**There have been concerns about the new characters coming in, and let me assure you that they will in no way make the story less interesting, or swamp anything to make the story painfully slow, or even to crowded. If anything, you'll love these new kiddies! (But Brantley wont, take that however you will.)**

**In the mean time, send me some title suggestions!**


	40. King of the Lab

Marlo rushed out onto the balcony, into my arms, "Guardian Angel!"

I hugged her for awhile, "Listen, Marlo, I'm sorry I had to be gone so long. But do you remember anything on the news about a second alien attack, barely prevented?"

Marlo nodded, "Yeah, but I don't know what prevented means."

"… Well, let's just say me and a couple of other people strung together, and kick alien butt, okay?"

Marlo giggled, then paused, "Wait, you're an angel, why were you fighting aliens?"

I took a deep breath, "Marlo, I need you to listen to me, and don't get mad, okay?"

She nodded, "I won't, I love you."

"Marlo, I'm not an angel, okay? I'm something totally different."

She looked hurt, betrayed even, "Then… what are you?"

I smiled slightly, "I'm a top secret government agent, like a soldier mixed with a spy. My job priorities are tracking down terrorists, bringing down dictators, and all together just trying to bring about world peace."

He eyes were wider than dinner plates. "That's a lot cooler than an angel."

I laughed, so true. "And this agent needs you to do her a favor. Can you?'

She nodded.

"I need you to bring your daddy out here, and then go to bed, okay?"

"Otay!" God she was so cute.

In a few moments, Jason stepped out onto the porch, and Marlo locked the door behind him. He frowned at me, "Who are you? How did you get up here!?"

"Cool it Jason." I laughed, and then brushed my hair out of my eyes, "You should know who I am. I sent you a Christmas present. Remember?"

His eyes went wide, "B-Brantley?"

I nodded, "Yeah bro."

And suddenly he yanked me into the biggest hug that Jason has ever given me. It felt nice, because Jason was never the 'I love ya little sis!' kind of brother, he was the 'shut up ya brat' kind of brother. "I never meant it Brantley." He said, voice shaking. "I don't hate you. I love you!"

I nodded, patting his back, "We've got a lot to talk about, and I can't tell you all of it. It's a matter of national security."

He pulled back, not sure if I was joking.

"And I've got some pretty heart breaking news about Dad, Jason. Can we go inside?"

He shook his head, "We could have, if Marlo hadn't locked the door. You can tell me while I try to jimmy the lock, alright?"

I nodded, "Sure."

**LATER, AT SHIELD:**

Our old rec-room and our new branch of S.H.I.E.L.D. HQ, had been revamped. The table in the center was bigger, there was a huge screen against one wall, a few computers set up as well. There were a few desks, and piles of crates acted as walls in-between them. Make shift offices.

I had the sinking feeling that the only reason that the council promoted us to our own sector was to keep a better eye on us, since as the leader of the team I have to give detailed reports of my sectors state every month. If they had any real faith of our intended success, they would have put us in a real sector, one with separate rooms, real offices, and more than one lousy screen.

Clyde handed Loki's spear over to Jason, hesitantly, "Here, keep it hidden."

Jason took it, "Are you sure about this? If you learned how to use this, then just think about all the power-"

"It's too much power." Clyde refused. "And I don't want any part of my father's powers near me. I'll get strong my own way. No magic, no Asguardian strength, none of it."

Tyson spoke up, "Is it going back into the prison?"

Jason shook his head, "I've decided to put it somewhere else for safe keeping. Somewhere only me, Cam, The Council, Fury, and Brantley know about."

I saw them all look at me, the questions in my eyes, and I shook my head at Jason, "We aren't going to do that anymore Jason. No secrets in this sector. I want them to know, and if you feel uncomfortable telling them, then I will."

Jason paused, and I could practically hear him running through scenarios in his mind. "Fine, I'll tell them. You'll probably screw up the details and facts because of your lack of IQ points."

I just rolled my eyes, "Go ahead."

Jason turned to the others, "Basically, I'm sending it to a similar underground storage location, but it's one that's only used for inanimate objects. There's no risk of any prisoners breaking out and grabbing it."

Jade spoke up, "Where? Or are we not allowed ta know?"

Jason sighed, apparently exasperated. "It's buried fifteen feet beneath the deepest trench in the ocean."

Tama raised an eyebrow, "What part of the ocean is the deepest?"

"Mariana Trench." Tyson answered, "But how did you even manage to put it in such a risky area? The pressure must be incredible."

"Hank Pym and I designed it." Jason explained.

"Like you designed Ultron?" Jackson snapped.

Jason gave Jackson a look, "When Hank and I designed Ultron, it was at a time when your father was being uncooperative with S.H.I.E.L.D. when we needed his help. Ultron was meant to be a more controllable version of Iron Man. When it went wrong, Hank and I did what was necessary to ensure he would be harmless."

"Why not just destroy him?" Clyde asked as he sat down in a chair around our conference table.

"Because he's the first artificial life mankind has ever created." Jason said, "I know none of you can understand because the importance of science escapes you, but he's a stepping stone toward what was once the impossible. I helped to create life. A feat once thought only God could accomplish."

Jackson shook his head, "I understand the importance of science Jason. I understand it enough to know when a project should be abandoned due to unlawful endangerment. I also know the difference between pursuing something for the good of mankind, and inflating your own ego, because my father is an egomaniac, and I'm not that humble myself."

"You don't say." I mumbled.

Jason shook his head, "You don't understand anything, you're just a kid."

Jackson called after him as Jason left, "Yeah, a kid who helped stop a global take over!"

"And your ego gets even bigger." I smirked, sitting down next to Clyde.

Jackson shook his head, sitting down as well. "Someone needs to knock that guy down a few pegs."

Jade nodded, taking the seat next to me, "Ah know he's yer friend Brantley, but he's what you would call a level one sociopath. He his ambitions over society."

I felt my mind slip back, to moments I had shared with Jason that my friends didn't know about. Once of the cell blocks in the underground prison Pit of Evil was occupied by a prisoner Jason and I had put there together. I still remember the similarities I had seen between him and Jason. "I know."

Tama laid her axe down on the table as she took a seat in-between Tyson and Jackson. "I say, enough of all this moping! We are no longer at war, so why act like it? This is a time to rejoice. We won, not only the battle, but something unique for each of us."

She leaned back in her chair, resting her feet on top of the table, "I have finally proven worthy of my warring heritage, to myself and all those in my homeland."

Clyde grinned, "I won new powers, I can reverse all of my pain now. I'm not just a back up medic anymore."

"I won my old family back." I felt a small smile tug at my lips, "And a new one."

Jade slipped her hand into Tyson's, and while he fought off a blush, she said, "Ah won a little more courage."

Tyson met her gaze, "I won the perfect girl."

Clyde offered a polite clap, while Tama burst out, "A wedding is in order!"

Jackson nearly busted a gut laughing, while Tyson and Jade both turned beet red.

"Congratulations you guys, I'm happy for you." I said, offering Jade a smile.

She nodded, "Thanks."

Jackson finally stopped laughing, "Well, anyone curious as to what I won?"

"Yer ego getting a little bigger?" Jade asked.

"Bragging rights over your dad because you whooped his butt?" Tyson raised an eyebrow.

Clyde rolled his eyes, "Get real guys, he won a _war_. That's all he cares about."

Tama shook her head, "Nay, he won honor for his family! That is what a true warrior holds most dear."

Jackson laughed again, "No, I won the right to call myself smarter than Jason! I'm not dumb enough to create artificial life, and have it backfire on me."

Tyson raised an eyebrow, "But, we can't be sure of that unless you actually did it."

"I'm smarter than him, because I know better than to even try." Jackson explained. "I'm smarter than Jason, the self proclaimed genius of S.H.I.E.L.D. laboratories."

I frowned in confusion, "When has Jason ever said-"

"So let me get this right." Tyson interrupted me. "You're smarter than the smartest man in the S.H.I.E.L.D. Lab?"

"Absolutely." Jackson responded with confidence.

Tyson snickered, "Well then, that makes you… the super nerd of the lab!"

Jade giggled, while Clyde nearly fell out of his chair laughing.

"No!" Jackson protested, "I'm… I'm not the super nerd, I'm the- I'm the King of the Lab!"

Suddenly, the middle of the table lit up in a electric blue light, a life size image of Jason's face appearing out of it. "Sorry Stark Junior, but your dad already tried to pull that with me. My IQ will always be higher, and my accomplishments always bigger. I have mass amounts of black mail on you, mostly security footage of you singing female empowerment songs in the shower."

Giggles erupted from us all, at Jackson's expense. "So, it's safe to say, I'm the King of the Lab. Eat your heart out kid."

The hologram disappeared, and the screen against the wall lit up with a clip of Jackson, naked in his bathroom, singing into a hairbrush. "These boots are made for walking, and that's just what they'll do~! And one day these boots will walk right over you~."

While the others busted out laughing, I reached across the table, putting a hand on Jackson's arm, "Jackson, I'm sorry but, he's the King of the Lab."

Jackson leaned back in his seat, crossing his arms. "I… will show him up."

"Of course you will." I tried to smile, to be happy for them all, but my heart wasn't really in it. My heart had been buried, six feet under. It was in the hands of a corpse, who I still couldn't think of as a corpse.

**THE NEXT WEEK:**

Jason peeked around the edge of the stack of crates, "Uh… this is your office?"

I looked around the three walled space, "Pretty much."

"It looks-"

"Like we need to do some budget work?"

"I was gonna say rustic, and edgy." Jason laughed, stepping forward, "How you liking the new job?"

I rolled my eyes, "I sit behind a desk, and decide which one of my overworked friends gets to go out and risk their life, while I stay here."

"Didn't they put you back as a field agent?" He asked, pulling a chair up.

"Yeah, but I'm only allowed to go out into the field myself when there's no one else to send."

Jason held up the brief case he was carrying, "Then you're really gonna like what I have here."

I groaned, "Jason, we don't have the manpower for any more cases! I've got Jade in Hong Kong, overseeing the delivery of semi-automatics, Clyde is off for the next week with Steve, going through private training, Tama and Jackson are in Afghanistan, taking care of transporting political prisoners, and-"

"Whoa!" Jason said quickly, holding his hands up, "Brant, this isn't a mission, I swear."

I raised an eyebrow as he pulled files out of the briefcase. "Then what is it?"

"Auditions." He said, setting about eight files on my desk.

"For what?"

He stood up to leave, "You're an official S.H.I.E.L.D. sector now Brantley, there's going to be people who want to join."

I picked up one of the files, reading the name. "Mio Howlett?"

* * *

**Well now, this story ends with this chapter.**

**It's been awesome guys, I had SO much fun writing this, and it was awesome that it got so popular! And yeah, there's going to be a sequel, but don't count on it being out until summer, alright? I've just got a lot on my plate...**

**And to those of you who read my fanfiction Intelligent, Indestructible, and Impossible, and know who Mio Howlett is, are you excited yet?**

**I will be introducing three/four new characters, but only two of them will be major characters, the other two will just come and go, sideline characters.**

**It's been fun guys! and to celebrate the end of this story, I'll be posting a funny one shot soon about my OC girls, Brantley Evans, Mio Howlett, Justin Todd, and Kyler Harper! (And their respective father figures) and it'll be called Daddy's Little Girl! It's meant to be funny, but it might also epically fail.**


End file.
